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«-: -.-•-'       ^        A   -  '    ^  •      - 1 


NEW  TALES  OF  OLD  ROME 


RODOLFO   LANCIANI 

AUTHOR  OF  "ANCIENT  ROME  IN  THE  LIGHT  OF  RECEMT  DISCOVERIES"  "  PAGAN  AND 

CHRISTIAN  ROME"  "THE  RUINS  AND  EXCAVATIONS  OP  ANCIENT  ROME" 

•'THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  ANCIENT  ROME"  ETC. 


PROFUSEL  Y  ILL  USTRA  TED 


433 


LONDON 
MACMILLAN  &  COMPANY,  LTD. 


Library 

1)G-n1 

A. 

05 


. 


DEDICATION 

DEAR  PRINCIPAL  DONALDSON  : 

I  TAKE  the  liberty  of  inscribing  your  name  to  this  vol- 
ume in  grateful  remembrance  of  the  hospitality  I  have 
enjoyed  in  the  University  of  St.  Andrews,  as  Gilford  lec- 
turer for  1899-1900.  The  volume  contains  those  parts 
only  of  my  lectures  which  refer  to  recent  archaBological  and 
historical  research  in  Rome,  and  which  have  not  appeared 
in  my  previous  publications. 

RODOLFO  LANCIANI. 
ROME,  July  1,  1901. 

To  JAMES  DONALDSON,  M.  A.,  LL.  D., 

Vice-Chancellor  and  Principal  of  the  University  of  St.  Andrews. 


But  I  will  sing  above  all  moniments 
Seven  Romane  hils,  the  world's  seven  Wonderments. 

SPENSEB. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAP.  PAGE 

i.   THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM 1 

n.   THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  ox  THE  SACRA  VIA 53 

in.   THE  SACRED  GROVE  OF  THE  AKVALES 92 

iv.   THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL      .     .     .     .  132 

v.    STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME 175 

vi.   JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME 215 

vn.    ENGLISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME 260 

vin.    SCOTTISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME 299 

INDEX                   331 


LIST   OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


FULL-PAGE   PLATES. 

PAGE 

POSITIONS  OF   THE   BLACK   STONE,  THE  ARCH  OF  SEVERUS,  AND 
THE  COLUMN  OF  PHOCAS  (from  an  aerial  photograph  taken  by 
Captain  Moris,  R.  E.,  June,  1899)     ....  Frontispiece 
THE  REMAINS  OF  THE  ARCH  OF  AUGUSTUS          ....      3 

THE  PAVEMENT  OF  THE  COMITIUM 41 

THE  FOUNTAIN  OF  CAMPO  VACCINO 45 

PLAN  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  THE  VESTALS,  TIME  OF  SEPTIMIUS 
SEVERUS  (built  over  the  Domus  Publica  of  the  time  of  Augustus. 
From  an  aerial  photograph  by  Captain  Moris,  R.  E.)  .  .  54 

THE  SHRINE  OF  VESTA 59 

THE  TEMPLE  OF  C-ESAR  AND  ITS  SURROUNDINGS  (from  an  aerial 

photograph  taken  by  Captain  Moris,  R.  E.)         ...         81 

THE  MONTE  DELLO  SERPENTE,  AVENTINE 129 

THE    WEST   COLONNADE   OF   BASILICA  JULIA,   FROM  THE  Vicus 

JUGARIUS 135 

THE  EXCAVATIONS  OF  THE  BASILICA  ^EMILIA  ....  139 
THE  PLACE  WHERE  ST.  PAUL  WAS  EXECUTED  .  .  .  157 
THE  BACCHUS  DISCOVERED  IN  THE  BARRACKS  OF  THE  EQUITES 

SlNGULARES 177 

THE  TEMPLE  OF  CYBELE  ON  THE  PALATINE    ....       183 

THE  VENUS  CLOTHO 189 

THE  VENUS  LAMIANA 223 

A  BIRD'S-EYE   SURVEY   OF   THE  CLIVUS  SACR.E  VLE  (taken  by 

Captain  Moris,  R.  E.,  from  a  balloon  at  a  height  of  1200  feet)  235 
CHAIR  IN  THE  SYNAGOGUE  OF  MODERN  ROME    ....  245 


Vlii  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

THE  VENUS  GENETRIX  BY  ARKESILAOS 261 

OLDEST  EXISTING  VIEW  OF  THE  FACADE  OF  ST.  PETER'S  (from 
a  sketch  of  the  eleventh  century  in  Cod.  124  of  the  Eton 
Library)  ..........  265 

THE  BORGO,  TIME  OF  ALEXANDER  VI 268 

POPE  INNOCENT  XI .  289 

THE  LAGO  DI  PIAZZA  NAVONA 316 

CENOTAPH  OF  THE  STUARTS  —  THE  MOURNING  ANGEL        .         .  327 

ILLUSTRATIONS   IN  THE  TEXT 

THE  LAPIS  NIGER  OR  BLACK  STONE 7 

PLAN    OF   THE    HEROON    OF    ROMULUS   UNDER   THE   FLoqR    OF 

BLACK  STONES  .                  9 

THE  HEROON  OF  ROMULUS  :  A  VIEW  TAKEN  UNDER  THE  FLOOR 

OF   BLACK   STONES,    SHOWING   THE   RELATIVE  POSITIONS  OF 

LIONS,  PILLAR,  AND  STELE  .         .         .         .'.''.         .11 

FIGURINES,  PROBABLY  REPRESENTING  HUMAN  VICTIMS    .         .  15 

A  VOTIVE  TERRACOTTA  PANEL 17 

FRAGMENT  OF  A  CHALCIDIAN  AMPHORA 19 

THE  NEWLY  FOUND  BASE  OF  THE  JULIAN  PlLLAR      .         .         .20 

THE  STELE  OR  INSCRIBED  PYRAMID  (GENERAL  VIEW)     .         .  21 

THE  STELE  OF  THE  COMITIUM  (DETAILS  OF  THE  EAST  FACE)     .  23 

THE  VOTIVE  VASE  OF  DVENOS 27 

PEDESTAL  OF  THE  EAST  LION 29 

MARBLES    DISCOVERED    IN    THE    VILLA    OF    MAXENTIUS   AT   S. 

CESARIO 33 

THE  BRONZE  WOLF 35 

THE  WOLF  IN  THE  COINS  OF  P.  SATRIENUS    ....  37 
AN  EXECUTION  "AT  THE  WOLF,"  A.  D.  1348    (from   a   painting 

formerly  in  the  Clementine  transept,  at  the  Lateran)         .         .  39 

THE  MARFORIO .43 

PASQUINO 48 

THE  FOUNTAIN  OF  THE  COMITIUM  .  49 


LIST   OF  ILLUSTRATIONS.  ix 

PLAN  OF  THE   REGIA   OF   THE   TIME   OF   THE    FLAVIANS,  BTTILT 

OVER  THE  OLD  FOUNDATIONS  OF  THE  TIME  OF  THE  KINGS.  57 
MEDALS   OF   DEVOTION   OF  THE   SIXTH   CENTURY,  COMMEMORA- 
TIVE OF  THE   CONSECRATION   TO   GOD   OF  BOYS  AND  GIRLS, 
AND    OF    THEIR  VOWS    OF   CHASTITY   PRONOUNCED   AT    THE 

GRAVE  OF  ST.  LAWRENCE '       .  65 

THE  KEGIA,  FROM  THE  SACRA  VIA 67 

FRAGMENTS  OF  THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  REGIA          .         .  70 
FRAGMENTS  OF  A  FRIEZE,  PROBABLY  OF  THE  REGIA  .         .         .71 
REMAINS  OF  A   MEDIEVAL   BUILDING  OCCUPYING  PART  OF  THE 
BASILICA  EMILIA  (where  an  important  fragment  of  the  Fasti 

has  been  found,  used  as  a  threshold  at  the  point  marked  A)  73 
THE  ENTRANCE  TO  THE  REGIA,  FROM  THE  EAST        .         .         .74 

THE  REGIA  (from  a  sketch  taken  in  1566,  hy  Pirro  Ligorio)       .  75 
THE  REGIA,  FROM  THE  WEST      .         .         .         .         .        .         .77 

THE  EXACT    PLACE    WHERE    THE    BODY   OF   C^SAR    WAS   CRE- 
MATED    83 

THE   CLIVUS  SACR.E  VI.E  OF  THE   TIME  OF   DOMITIAN,  DISCOV- 
ERED JUNE,  1899 87 

THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  ANIO  NEAR  ROCCAGIOVINE     ...  93 

THE  CLIFFS  OF  VEII  AT  THE  PONTE  SODO 97 

THE  PlANELLA  DI  CASSIO  NEAR  TlVOLI 99 

THE    MOTTO    "  KNOW    THYSELF  "   IN    A   MOSAIC    FLOOR    IN   A 

TOMB  OF  THE  APPIAN  WAY 101 

THE  VIGNA  CECCARELLI,  THE  FORMER  SEAT  OF  THE  ARVALES  104 

THE  TEMPLE  OF  THE  DEA  DIA  RESTORED       ....  105 

THE  HEAD  OF  AUGUSTUS  AS  FRATER  ARVALIS   ....  106 

THE  WEST  WING  OF  MICHELANGELO'S  CLOISTERS   .         .         .  107 
Two  SPECIMENS   OF  THE   ACTA   ARVALIUM  OF   THE  FIRST  AND 

THIRD  CENTURIES 109 

THE  CHURCH  OF  S.  MARINA  AT  ARDEA          ....  Ill 
THE    CAMPANILE    OF    CASTEL    S.    PIETRO    ABOVE    PALESTRINA 

STRUCK  BY  LIGHTNING 113 


x  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

A  WAYSIDE  SHRINE 115 

THE  GOOD  SHEPHEKD  WITH  THE  SVASTIKA  .  .  .  .117 
THE  SACRED  GROVE  OF  ANNIA  REGILLA  ....  121 
A  PICTURESQUE  CORNER  IN  THE  NEW  PASSEGGIATA  DEL  GIAN- 

ICOLO 123 

TASSO'S  OAK  BY  S.  ONOFRIO   .        .        ...        .        .      125 

THE  YOUNG  HERCULES  STRANGLING  THE  SERPENT      .         .         .  126 
THE  JUNO  LANUVINA       .         .         .         .        .        .         .         .       127 

SITE  OF  BASILICA  ^EMILIA  BEFORE  EXCAVATION  .  .  .  137 
THE  TRIUMPHAL  ARCH  OF  HONORIUS  AT  ST.  PAUL'S  .  .  141 
THE  BASILICA  PAULI  APOSTOLI,  DESTROYED  BY  FIRE  IN  1823  .  143 
A  "  CANDELIERA  "  OR  MARBLE  PILASTER  OF  THE  BASILICA 

^EMILIA  .  . 147 

A  MARBLE  PANEL  FROM  THE  BASILICA  ^EMILIA  .  .  .  149 
THE  OLDEST  KNOWN  VIEW  OF  THE  RUINS  OF  THE  FORUM  (now 

in  the  Escurial)  .  . 151 

THE  ROAD  BY  WHICH  ST.  PAUL  APPROACHED  ROME  .  .  155 

PORTRAIT  BUST  OF  SENECA 161 

THE  VIA  APPIA  BY  THE  SO-CALLED  TOMB  OF  SENECA  .  .  163 
A  VIEW  OF  THE  TOMB  AND  CANOPY  OF  ST.  PAUL  .  .  .  167 
THE  VIA  OSTIENSIS  FLOODED  BY  THE  TIBER  ....  170 

THE  NEW  FA9ADE  OF  ST.  PAUL'S 173 

A  STATUETTE  OF  EPONA  DISCOVERED  AT  ALBANO  .  .  .  181 
CYBELE'S  ARRIVAL  IN  ROME  FROM  PESSINUS  (from  a  terracotta 

bas-relief  formerly  in  the  possession  of  G.  B.  Guidi)  .  .  187 

THE  STATUE  OF  ATYS  FOUND  AT  OSTIA 191 

THE  MITHRIAC  BAS-RELIEF  IN  THE  CAVE  OF  THE  CAPITOL  .  195 
THE  LODGE  DISCOVERED  IN  1870,  UNDER  THE  CHURCH  OF  S. 

CLEMENTE 197 

THE  CLIFFS  OF  THE  CAPITOLINE  HILL,  SOUTH  FACE  .  .  199 

THE  LION  CUT  BY  FLAMINIO  VACCA  OUT  OF  A  BLOCK  OF  PEN- 

TELIC  MARBLE  FROM  THE  TEMPLE  OF  JUPITER  .  .  201 
THE  LAKE  OF  NEMI,  WITH  THE  SECOND  SHIP  OUTLINED  BY  MEANS 

OF  FLOATERS  .  .  .  205 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS.   '  xi 

ONE  OF  THE  MOORING-RINGS  OF  THE  FlRST  SHIP  .  .  .  207 
ANOTHER  MOORING-RING  OF  THE  FIRST  SHIP  .  .  208 

THE  MEDUSA'S  HEAD  FROM  THE  FIRST  SHIP  ....  209 
PLAN  OF  THE  FIRST  VESSEL  (from  Captain  Malfatti's  Survey)  .  211 
SOME  OF  THE  DECORATIONS  OF  THE  FIRST  SHIP  (from  Malfatti's 

photograph)         .........       212 

TIMBER  FROM  THE  FRAME  OF  THE  FIRST  SHIP,  LANDED  NEAR 

THE  "  CASA  DEL  PESCATORE  " 213 

THE  SARCOPHAGUS  OF  THE  MACCABEES 216 

PLAN  OF  THE  LAMIAN  GARDENS 219 

ONE  OF  THE  TRITONS  DISCOVERED  DECEMBER  24,  1874,  NEAR 

NORTHERN  END  OF  GALLERY  IN  THE  LAMIAN  GARDENS  221 
THE  MAGIC  GATE  OF  THE  PALOMBARA  GARDENS  (now  in  the 

Piazza  Vittorio  Emmanuele  on  the  Esquiline)  .  .  .  228 

THE  ARCH  OF  TITUS  BEFORE  ITS  KESTORATION  .  .  .  229 
THE  MONUMENTAL  COLUMNS  ON  THE  SACRA  VIA  .  .  .  233 
THE  GANYMEDE  OF  LEOCHARES  :  A  LATE  REPLICA  DISCOVERED 

AT  FALLERONE 239 

THE  TRASTEVERE  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES  (from  a  sketch  now  in 

the  library  of  the  Escurial) 243 

THE  JEWISH  CEMETERY  AT  THE  CIRCUS  MAXIMUS  AS  SEEN  FROM 

THE  AVENTINE  .........       249 

A  WINDOW  OF  THE  PIERLEONI  HOUSE,  VIA  DI  PORTA  LEONE  251 
THE  TOMB  OF  THE  GREAT  PIERLEONE  IN  THE  CLOISTERS  OF  ST. 

PAUL'S 253 

THE  GHETTO  AT  THE  TIME   OF   PAUL  V.  (from  a  contemporary 

• 
engraving)  .........        255 

VANISHED  ROME  :  A  STREET  SCENE  IN  THE  OLD  GHETTO  .  257 

THE  CONQUEST  OF   BRITAIN   IN   THE   INSCRIPTION  OF  CLAUDIUS  263 
THE  PALAZZO  DELLA  CANCELLERIA  :   BUILT  WITH  THE  COLUMNS 
AND    MARBLES    OF    THE     BARRACKS    OF    THE    "  GREENS  " 

(FACTIO  PRASINA) 273 

A  TYPICAL  ROMAN  HOSTELRY     .  ...  275 


xii  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

THE  ENGLISH  PALACE  IN  ROME  (now  Giraud-Torlonia)  .  .  279 
ALEXANDER  VI.  (from  a  fresco  in  the  Sale  Borgia)  .  .  .  281 
THE  CENOTAPH  OF  ALEXANDER  VI.  IN  THE  CRYPT  OF  ST. 

PETER'S .  .  .  283 

THE  PALAZZO  PAMPHILI  IN  THE  PIAZZA  NAVONA  .  .  .  286 

THE  BARBERINI  PALACE 287 

THE  CHURCH  OF  S.  GREGORIO  . 293 

ST.  AUGUSTINE  LEAVING  ROME  FOR  ENGLAND  (from  a  fresco 

at  the  Monte  Oliveto  Maggiore)  ......       294 

THE  TOMB  OF  CARDINAL  ADAM  OF  HERTFORD  ....  297 

A  VIEW  OF  HADRIAN'S  VILLA  EXCAVATED  BY  HAMILTON  .  305 

GABII 307 

BUST  OF  CNJEUS  DOMITIUS  CORBULO 308 

THE  CHURCH  OF  S.  FLAVIANO  IN  THE  VILLAGE  OF  MONTEFI- 

ASCONE  .  .  .  .  310 

THE  CATAFALQUE  RAISED  IN  THE  CHURCH  OF  SS.  APOSTOLI  FOR 

THE  FUNERAL  OF  JAMES  III.  ......  313 

THE  SACRE  GROTTE  VATICANE 314 

THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  OF  CARDINAL  YORK,  FRASCATI  .  319 
THE  VILLA  CONTI  AT  FRASCATI,  FOR  SOME  TIME  THE  RESIDENCE 

OF  CARDINAL  YORK 321 

THE  VIA  TRIUMPHALIS  LEADING  TO  THE  TEMPLE  OF  JUPITER 

ON  THE  MONS  ALBANUS 322 

A  VIEW  OF  THE  MONTE  CAVO 323 

A.  VIEW  OF  THE  ROMAN  WALL  IN  NORTHUMBERLAND  .  .  324 
THE  GATE  OF  THE  VILLA  MILLS  ON  THE  PALATINE,  WITH  THE 

EMBLEM  OF  THE  THISTLE     ...  .  325 


NEW  TALES  OF  OLD  ROME. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    NEW    DISCOVERIES    IN    THE    FORUM. 

A  DISCOVERY  made  on  the  borderline  between  the  Co- 
mitium  and  the  Forum,  on  June  15,  1899,  has  set  the 
archaeological  world  astir,  and  given  rise  to  a  much  debated 
controversy.  To  make  the  matter  clear  to  the  reader,  I 
must  go  back  to  the  very  beginning  of  the  present  campaign 
of  exploration,  which  will  remain  memorable  forever  in  the 
archaeological  records  of  Rome. 

The  reason  why  the  exploration  has  proved  so  successful 
must  be  found  in  the  fact  that  former  excavations  —  those 
included  in  which  I  have  had  a  personal  share,  since  1871  — 
have  seldom  reached  the  deepest  levels.  As  soon  as  a 
paving-stone,  or  a  brick  or  marble  floor  was  found,  whether 
imperial,  or  Byzantine,  or  mediaeval,  it  did  not  matter,  we 
were  made  to  stop,  without  trying  to  ascertain  whether  older 
and  more  important  relics  were  concealed  in  the  lower  strata. 
I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  the  surface  ruins  ought  to  be 
sacrificed  to  the  requirements  of  a  deeper  exploration,  be- 
cause no  archaeologist  in  the  world,  however  great  his  fame 
and  his  independence,  has  the  right  to  break  one  single  link 
in  the  chain  of  chronology  of  superposed  structures,  every 
one  of  which  has  an  equal  claim  to  existence  :  but  there 
are  gaps  and  free  spaces  enough  between  the  surface  ruins 
to  allow  occasionally  the  search  to  be  carried  down  to  the 
virgin  soil. 


2         THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM. 

When  the  space  between  the  temples  of  Julius  Caesar  and 
of  Castor  and  Pollux  was  cleared  away  in  1882,  we  gave  up 
the  search  at  the  level  of  the  street  pavements,  dating  from 
the  sixth  or  the  seventh  century  after  Christ.  Six  years 
later  Professor  Otto  Richter  was  enabled  to  discover  the 
remains  of  the  triumphal  arch  of  Augustus,  only  nine 
inches  below  the  line  at  which  we  had  stopped  in  1882. l 

In  1879,  when  the  new  boulevard  Principe  Eugenio  was 
laid  open  across  the  old  Licinian  Gardens,  between  the 
so-called  Minerva  Medica  and  the  Porta  Maggiore,  we  came 
across  a  section  of  the  palace  of  Gallienus,  which  had  been 
excavated  by  Piranesi,  about  a  century  before.  Piranesi, 
and  his  associate  Belardi,  having  reached  the  level  of  the 
drains,  considered  their  task  finished,  and  turned  the  spade 
to  a  more  promising  spot ;  and  yet  far  below  those  drains 
lay  buried  nine  columbaria,  rich  in  cinerary  urns,  inscrip- 
tions, paintings,  statuary,  and  objects  of  value,  which  I 
have  illustrated  in  the  "  Bullettino  archeol.  comunale  "  for 
1880.2 

The  present  exploration  of  the  Forum  and  neighboring 
sites  has  been  undertaken,  therefore,  with  the  view  of  reach- 
ing -the  early  imperial,  the  republican,  the  kingly,  or  even 
the  prehistoric  strata,  wherever  it  was  possible  to  do  so 
without  special  injury  to  the  later  and  higher  structures. 
The  results  have  been  quite  satisfactory,  as  I  shall  have  occa- 
sion to  prove  more  than  once  in  the  following  pages.  The 
one  which  comes  within  the  scope  of  the  present  chapter 
is  the  discovery  of  the  cenotaph  (sepulcrum  inane]  and 
national  monument  (heroon)  of  Romulus,  the  founder  of 

1  Richter,  Mittheil.  d.  arch.  Inst.  vol.  iii.  (1888),  p.  99  ;  Antike  Denkmaler, 
1888,  p.  14  ;  Bull.  arch,  comunale,  1888,  p.  167;  The'denat,  Le  Forum  remain, 
p.  180. 

2  Page  51,  pi.  2,  3.     Compare  Corpus  Inscr.  vol.  vi.  part  ii.  p.  976. 


THE   REMAINS   OF  THE   ARCH   OF  AUGUSTUS 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM.         5 

the  City.  It  took  place  under  the  following  circum- 
stances :  — 

The  area  of  the  Comitium  is,  or  rather  was,  separated  from 
that  of  the  Forum  by  a  mediaeval  road  leading  up  to  the 
arch  of  Severus,  so  negligently  paved  with  blocks  of  silex 
that  the  grooves  of  cart-wheels  with  which  they  are  marked 
appear  sometimes  perpendicular  to  the  line  of  the  road. 
The  embankment,  moreover,  on  which  they  are  laid  is  made 
up  of  loose  earth  and  bricks  and  stumps  of  columns,  and 
even  inscribed  pedestals,  one  of  which,  bearing  the  name  of 
the  emperor  Constantius,  and  the  date  356-359  A.  D.,  was 
found  September  1,  1803,  "  sub  silicibus  vise  stratae  per 
arcum  Severi."  In  trying  to  ascertain  how  far  and  how 
deep  the  area  of  the  Comitium  —  which  is  paved,  like  that 
of  the  Forum,  with  slabs  of  travertine  —  extended  under 
this  late  road,  Commendatore  Boni,  who  is  in  charge  of  the 
excavations,  discovered  on  January  10,  1899,  an  enclosure 
twelve  feet  long,  nine  feet  wide,  screened  by  a  marble  par- 
apet on  three  sides,  and  paved  with  slabs  of  the  blackest 
kind  of  Taenarian  marble. 

In  estimating  the  value  of  this  discovery  we  must  bear  in 
mind  two  facts.  The  first  is  that  the  Forum,  the  Comitium, 
the  Sacra  Via,  and  the  surrounding  edifices  were  seriously 
injured  or  completely  destroyed  by  the  fire  of  Carinus,  283 
A.  D.,  the  damages  of  which  were  made  good  by  Diocletian, 
who  rebuilt  the  Basilica  Julia,  the  Forum  Juliurn,  the  Grae- 
costasis,  and  the  Senate  House;  by  Maxentius,  who  rebuilt  the 
temple  of  Caesar,  the  Regia,  the  Porticus  Margaritaria,  and 
the  temple  of  Venus  and  Rome,  and  by  the  S.  P.  Q.  R.,  which 
"  (templum  Saturni)  incendio  consumptum  restituit,"  as  the 
inscription  on  the  pronaos  asserts.  We  therefore  see  the 

1  Corpus  Inscr.  vol.  vi.  n.  1161:  "under  the  paving-stones  of  the  road  which 
passes  through  the  arch  of  Severus." 


6         THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM. 

Forum  and  the  Comitium  not  as  they  were  seen  and  de- 
scribed by  the  classic  writers  of  the  Republic  and  of  the 
early  Empire,  but  as  they  were  manipulated  and  rearranged 
by  Diocletian  and  Maxentius  after  the  disaster  of  283. 

Now,  as  among  the  many  acres  of  public  squares,  or 
streets,  or  sacred  enclosures,  or  courts  laid  bare  at  Rome, 
Ostia,  Tusculum,  Prseneste,  Tibur,  Cures,  Veii,  not  an  inch 
of  black  flooring  has  ever  been  found,  this  small  corner  of 
the  Comitium,  "  stratum  lapide  nigro,"  unique  in  its  kind, 
must  have  a  special  meaning.  Considering,  furthermore, 
that  ancient  writers  mention  the  existence  of  a  Black  Stone 
in  this  identical  spot,  we  cannot  help  connecting  the  find 
with  their  testimony,  and  we  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
we  actually  behold  one  of  the  most  famous  relics  of  the 
early  days  of  Rome.  Of  course  we  are  not  sure  whether 
the  black  slabs  are  the  identical  ones  set  up  in  the  Comitium 
at  the  time  of  the  Kings;  I  believe  they  are  not :  but  what 
we  know  for  certain  is  that  when  Diocletian  repaved  the 
Comitium  in  284,  slightly  raising  its  level,  he  thought  it 
necessary  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  the  place  by  pav- 
ing with  Tsenarian  marble  a  small  enclosure  in  front  of 
the  Senate  House,  making  use  probably  ef  the  same  slabs 
which  had  marked  the  spot  since  the  time  of  Augustus  or 
Domitian. 

1  So  far  so  good.  The  difficulties  begin  when  we  endeavor 
to  find  out  why  the  "  lapis  niger  "  was  set  up  in  the  Comi- 
tium, and  what  its  meaning  was.  Ancient  writers  agree  on 
one  point,  that  it  was  an  enclosure  sacred  to  the  memory 
of  the  dead,  but  they  vary  as  to  its  significance.  Sextus 
Pompeius  Festus,  a  Roman  grammarian  of  the  second 
century,  whose  treatise  "  De  verborum  signification  "  is 
abridged  from  a  greater  work  on  the  same  subject  by  M. 
Verrius  Flaccus,  another  celebrated  etymologist  of  the 


THE,  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM.          7 

time  of  Augustus,  says  :  "  The  Black  Stone  in  the  Co- 
mitium  marks  a  place  of  ill  omen,  destined  as  a  grave  to 
Romulus,  although  the  hero  was  not  actually  buried  there  : 
others  say  that  either  Faustulus,  the  Palatine  shepherd,  or 
Hostilius,  the  grandfather  of  King  Tullius,"  lies  buried 
there  instead  of  Romulus.  The  text  of  M.  Terentius  Varro, 
whose  vast  and  varied  erudition  in  almost  every  department 


The  Lapis  Niger  or  Black  Stone. 

of  literature  earned  for  him  the  title  of  prince  of  the 
Roman  men  of  letters,  is  lost,  but  what  he  thought  about 
the  Black  Stone  is  told  us  by  three  commentators  of  Hor- 
ace.1 Varro  thought  it  marked  the  tomb  of  Romulus,  the 
founder  of  the  City,  because,  he  says,  "  two  stone  lions  have 
been  erected  to  guard  it,  like  that  of  a  hero  ;  and  because 
funeral  orations  in  honor  of  great  men  are  still  delivered 

1  Porphyrion  in  Horace,  Epod.  xvi.  13 ;  the  Scholiast  of  Cruyg,  ibid.,  and  the 
anonym  of  Cod.  Parisin.  7975. 


8          THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES   IN  THE  FORUM. 

from  the  Rostra  close  by."  Dionysius  speaks  of  one  lion 
as  being  still  visible  in  his  days.  Lastly,  we  hear  that  those 
stones  of  ill  omen  marked  the  spot  where  Romulus  had  been 
cut  to  pieces  (discerptus]  by  the  mob.  Speaking  of  this 
conflicting  evidence,  in  the  sitting  of  the  Reale  Accademia 
dei  Lincei  of  January  22,  1899,  I  remarked  that  the  fact 
of  the  enclosure  and  of  the  black  floor  having  been  re- 
constructed at  so  late  an  age,  by  Diocletian  or  Maxentius, 
in  preference  to  many  other  landmarks  of  this  famous  dis- 
trict, shows  how  essential  it  was  in  the  mind  of  the  Romans 
to  perpetuate  the  tradition.  Considering,  therefore,  that 
the  place  has  not  been  disturbed  since  the  fall  of  the  Em- 
pire, it  was  easy  to  ascertain,  by  tunnelling  the  ground  at 
the  proper  level,  whether  anything  remarkable  was  buried 
under  that  floor,  like  an  earthen  jar,  a  stone  coffin,  or 
some  other  relic  from  the  prehistoric  age. 

Nearly  five  months  elapsed  before  the  exploration  could 
be  carried  through  :  but  we  did  not  lose  much  by  waiting. 
First  to  appear  was  a  grave  (fossa]  once  guarded  by  two 
great  stone  lions  :  the  lions  have  disappeared,  but  their 
oblong  pedestals  are  almost  intact.  A  sacrificial  stone  is 
laid  over  the  grave  or  cenotaph,  while  on  the  right  side  of 
the  lions  stand  upright  in  their  original  position  a  conical 
pillar,  and  a  pyramidal  stone  covered  with  Greek  letters  of 
archaic  type.  Back  of  this  monumental  group,  the  various 
parts  of  which  are  so  intimately  connected  with  one  another, 
a  raised  platform  was  found,  3.44  metres  long,  1.60  metres 
wide,  so  similar  to  the  Argsean  altars  of  the  Cermalus  and 
of  S.  Martino  ai  Monti,  that  it  was  undoubtedly  intended 
for  a  similar  use.  I  confess  that  in  my  long  experience  of 
Roman  excavations  I  was  never  more  impressed  than  at  the 
sight  of  this  venerable  monument  raised  in  honor  of  the 
founder  of  the  City  not  long  after  his  death,  a  simple  and  yet 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM.         9 

not  inelegant  work  of  an  Etruscan  stonecutter  of  the  time  of 
Servius  Tullius.  The  various  parts  of  the  group,  the  lions, 
the  pillar,  the  stele,  and  the  altar  have  all  been  purposely 
injured  and  mutilated  by  the  violence  of  man.  The  pillar 


Plan  of  the  Heroon  of  Romulus  under  the  floor  of  black  stones. 

and  the  stele  are  broken  off  at  about  one  third  of  their 
original  height ;  the  plinth  of  the  left  lion  is  half  destroyed, 
half  moved  out  of  place.  The  whole  group  was  found  im- 
bedded in  a  layer  of  sacrificial  remains,  from  fifteen  to 
twenty  inches  thick,  such  as  charred  bones  of  victims  (young 
bulls,  sheep,  goats,  swine),  small  vases,  clay  disks  represent- 
ing cakes,  figurines  cast  in  metal  or  cut  in  bone,  pieces  of 
"  «s  rude,"  and  so  forth.  It  has  been  said,  but  we  have  as 


10       THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM. 

yet  no  official  confirmation  of  the  fact,  that  the  layer  con- 
tained also  two  or  three  small  chips  of  the  black  flooring 
itself,  which  must  have  been  broken  and  split  by  the  same 
hands  by  which  the  Comitium  was  reduced  to  a  heap  of 
smouldering  ruins. 

Whose  hands  were  they?  There  seems  to  be  but  one 
answer  to  the  query.  We  behold  the  palpable,  the  speak- 
ing evidence  of  the  storming  and  sacking  of  Rome  by  the 
Gauls  in  390  B.  c.  Whether  the  senators  and  the  patri- 
cians, who  had  deemed  it  inconsistent  with  their  dignity  to 
abandon  the  City  and  their  duties  by  an  ignoble  flight, 
were  actually  murdered  here,  as  stated  by  Plutarch  (Camill. 
21),  or  in  the  vestibules  of  their  houses,  as  stated  by  Livy 
(v.  40),  or  whether  they  were  murdered  at  all,  is  still  a 
matter  of  discussion  ;  but  the  incident  of  the  centurion, 
related  by  the  same  historian  (v.  50),  certainly  refers  to  the 
place  now  excavated.  While  the  senators  were  assembled 
on  the  site  of  the  Curia  Hostilia  to  discuss  the  proposal  of 
emigrating  to  Veii,  and  the  people  crowded  around  to  learn 
the  result  of  their  deliberations,  a  company  of  soldiers  hap- 
pened to  cross  the  Comitium,  and  the  centurion,  whether  by 
chance  or  by  design,  gave  the  command,  "  Ensign,  fix  the 
standard  here  :  hie  manebimus  optime  !  "  Senators  and 
plebeians  accepted  the  omen,  and  the  emigration  to  Veii  was 
unanimously  negatived.  Now  one  of  their  first  thoughts  in 
undertaking  the  reconstruction  and  the  reorganization  of 
the  City  was  to  purify  it  from  the  profanation  it  had  suf- 
fered at  the  hands  of  the  barbarians.  "  Senatus  consultum 
factum,"  Livy  says,  "  fana  omnia,  quod  ea  hostis  possedis- 
set,  restituerentur,  terminarentur,  expiarenturque :  expiatio 
eorum  per  duumviros  qusereretur."  The  purification  was 

1  "It  was  decreed  by   the  Senate  that  all  sacred  places   which  had  been 
occupied  [and  profaned]  by  the  enemy  should   be  rebuilt,  purified,  and  their 


THE   NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM.       11 

the  more  necessary  for  the  Curia  and  the  Comitium,  as  they 
were  both  consecrated  places. 

It  was  suggested  at  first  that  the  layer  of  votive  offerings 
by  which  the  Heroon  is  enveloped  is  not  the  result  of  sac- 
rifices performed  here  for  a  certain  number  of  years  or  of 
centuries,  but  the  outcome  of  the  purification  made  after  the 
retreat  of  the  Gauls.  The  analysis  of  the  single  objects, 


The  Heroon  of  Romulus ;  a  view  taken  under  the  floor  of  black  stones,  showing 
the  relative  position  of  lions,  pillar,  and  stele. 

however,  has  proved  that  they  are  not  contemporary,  not 
even  approximately  so ;  but  that  the  formation  of  the  heap 
must  have  required  .several  centuries. 

In  studying  the  group  constituting,  as  it  were,  the  national 
monument  to  the  founder  of  the  City,  we  must  take  into 
consideration  its  various  parts,  viz.,  the  cenotaph  guarded 
by  the  lions,  the  sacrificial  stone,  the  pillar,  the  inscribed 


limits  marked  out 
out  the  decree." 


and  that  special  magistrates  should  be  selected  to  carry 


12       THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM. 

pyramid,  the  altar,  and  the  wells  or  receptacles  for  votive 
offerings  which  are  to  be  found  by  scores  in  the  neighbor- 
ing district. 

First  as  to  the  tomb.  In  the  early  days  of  Rome,  when 
the  population  was  still  dwelling  within  the  limits  of  the 
Palatine  hill,  the  mundus  or  round  pit  that  marked  the 
centre  of  the  consecrated  space  was  obviously  in  the  centre 
of  the  hill  itself,  at  the  intersecting  point  of  the  two  me- 
ridian lines,  the  cardo  and  the  decumanus.  Its  location 
was  indicated  by  a  heap  of  stones,  which  in  course  of 
time  took  the  shape  of  a  square  altar,  named  the  Roma 
Quadrata,  a  venerable  relic  preserved  through  the  lapse  of 
centuries  to  the  end  of  the  Empire.  Had  the  Latin  ele- 
ment of  the  population  determined  to  raise  a  memorial  to 
its  leader,  apart  from  their  neighbors,  the  Sabines  and  the 
Etruscans,  they  would  no  doubt  have  located  it  at  their 
own  mundus,  viz.,  at  the  Roma  Quadrata.  The  monument 
we  have  found,  however,  has  a  much  higher  signification : 
it  is  the  joint  offering  of  all  the  elements  of  the  Roman 
population  dwelling  on  the  Septimontium,  after  their 
amalgamation  into  one  body  by  Numa  and  Servius.  Its 
site,  therefore,  was  selected  outside  the  boundaries  of  the 
Sabine,  the  Aboriginal,  the  Etruscan,  and  the  Latin  sections, 
occupying  respectively  the  Quirinal,  the  Capitoline,  the 
CaBlian,  and  the  Palatine  hills  ;  and  the  monument  rose,  as 
it  were,  on  neutral  or  common  ground,  in  the  hollow  space 
between  those  heights,  where  the  bartering  trade  between 
the  various  tribes  had  already  given  rise  to  a  rudimentary 
Forum. 

According  to  the  Roman  legend,  Romulus  and  Tatius, 
after  the  mediation  of  the  Sabine  women,  met  on  the  spot 
where  the  battle  had  been  fought,  and  made  peace  and  an 
alliance.  The  spot,  a  low,  damp,  grassy  field,  bordering 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM.       13 

on  the  marshes  of  the  lesser  Velabrum,  and  exposed  to  the 
floods  of  a  local  stream,  named  (probably)  Spinon,  took 
the  name  of  Comitium,  from  the  verb  coire,  to  assemble. 
Other  reasons  justified  the  selection  of  the  site.  Here  was 
the  Volkanal,  where  business  of  state  between  the  two 
kings,  Romulus  and  Tatius,  and  their  councillors  had 
been  transacted  for  a  while  ;  and  here  was  the  stone  hall, 
or  Curia,  where  the  meetings  of  the  Senate  of  the  federal 
or  amalgamated  city  were  henceforth  to  take  place.  Here 
ran  a  stream  of  living  water,  with  which,  on  the  commemo- 
rative feast  of  the  hero,  the  flamen  could  purify  himself 
before  offering  the  sacrifice.  For  this  reason,  and  also 
because  of  the  thought  that  life  is  like  the  water  of  a  river 
that  flows  into  the  sea  of  eternity  and  disappears,  memo- 
rials to  heroes  were  raised  in  preference  along  the  banks 
of  rivers.  Thus  ^Eneas  was  buried  on  the  river  Numicius, 
at  the  foot  of  the  hills  of  Lavinium.  Romulus,  on  his 
part,  had  his  memorial  both  on  the  river  which  ran  through 
the  heart  of  the  Etrusco-Sabino-Latin  Rome,  and  in  the 
Agora  or  market-place,  which,  according  to  a  tradition 
dating  as  far  back  as  Theseus,  was  the  place  of  honor  in 
Argsean  and  Pelasgic  cities.  The  location,  in  fact,  was  so 
happily  selected  that  the  centre,  the  6/u,(£aXog,  the  umbili- 
cus Romce,  was  never  shifted  from  this  spot,  even  when 
the  population  rose  to  one  million,  and  the  great  city 
expanded  miles  away  from  the  original  nucleus  on  the 
Palatine. 

The  Heroon  sacred  to  Romulus,  the  protecting  genius  of 
the  City,  became  an  object  of  popular  worship,  and  propitia- 
tions were  offered  and  sacrifices  performed  at  its  altar, 
especially  in  troubled  or  dangerous  times.  For  this  purpose 
a  fossa  or  receptacle  was  always  attached  to  the  Heroon, 
to  which  the  victim  was  brought,  and  where  it  was  slain  so 


14       THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM. 

that  its  blood  might  flow  inside,  and  give  joy  and  satisfac- 
tion to  the  spirit  o£  the  hero  and  appease  his  wrath.  The 
mysterious  and  irresistible  power  of  the  same  spirit  was 
symbolized  by  one  or  two  lions,  —  an  Oriental  conception 
which,  from  immemorial  times,  had  been  popular  in  the 
^Egean  islands,  in  Greece,  and  in  Italy.  I  need  hardly 
quote  the  well  known  instance  of  Leonidas,  in  whose  mem- 
ory a  lion  was  raised  on  the  hillock  in  the  pass  of  Ther- 
mopylae, where  he  and  his  gallant  followers  had  made  their 
last  stand.  Varro,  speaking  of  the  lions  of  Romulus,  uses 
the  expression,  "  sicut  in  sepulchris  videmus  "  (as  we  see  in 
other  [heroic]  tombs). 

I  am  not  sure  whether  the  sacrificial  stone  which  we  see 
still  lying  over  i\\e  fossa,  between  the  pedestals  of  the  lions, 
is  the  original  one,  or  whether  it  is  a  restoration  after  the 
invasion  of  the  Gauls.  In  either  case,  it  must  certainly  have 
witnessed  some  extraordinary  and  blood-curdling  scenes. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  the  small  figurines  of  clay,  bone, 
bronze,  and  amber  found  in  the  layer  of  votive  offerings  are 
real  veKpuv  dyaX/^ara  —  images  of  the  dead  —  indicative 
of  human  sacrifices.  They  represent  a  stiff,  naked  human 
figure  with  the  arms  stretched  close  to  the  body,  without 
any  sign  of  life,  very  different,  therefore,  from  the  figu- 
rines found  in  or  near  the  temples  of  the  gods,  which 
appear  full  of  life  and  brightness. 

It  is  true  that  only  bones  of  young  animals  have  been 
found  in  the  sacrificial  strata  ;  but  it  is  not  improbable  that 
—  under  exceptionally  anxious  circumstances  —  human  vic- 
tims were  slain  over  this  stone,  and  human  blood  was  made 
to  flow  into  the  cenotaph  below.  We  must  not  forget  that 
Numa  Pompilius,  or  whoever  first  organized  Roman  wor- 
ship and  dictated  the  code  of  Roman  religion,  was  imbued 
with  the  dark  and  cruel  principles  of  the  Sabine  belief, 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM.       15 


which  Livy  (i.  13)  calls  "  sad  and  awe-inspiring."  If  the 
great  ^Eneas  himself  had  endeavored  to  assuage  the  wrath 
of  Pallas  with  human  blood,  the  descendants  of  his  race 
might  equally  well  have  resorted  to  the  same  means  of  pro- 
pitiation when  the  interests, 
nay,  the  very  safety  of  the 
Commonwealth  were  at 
stake.  Roman  writers  as- 
sert, it  is  true,  that  Druidic 
rites  were  excluded  from 
the  national  religious  code 
after  the  time  of  the  Kings, 
but  we  know  that  on  more 
than  one  occasion  cruel 
deeds  were  perpetrated.  A 
man  and  a  woman  were  im- 
molated in  the  Forum  Boa- 
rium  after  the  battle  of 
Cannse ;  and  although  Livy 
gives  the  excuse  that  the  immolation  was  against  the  law, — 
minime  romano  sacro,  —  still  we  have  reason  to  suspect 
that  exceptions  to  the  rule  were  not  infrequent.  A  Senatus- 
consultum  was  actually  passed  as  late  as  96  B.  c.  forbid- 
ding ne  homo  immolaretur.  And  to  what  purpose  ?  Not 
speaking  of  what  continued  to  take  place  in  certain  savage 
countries,  nominally  subjected  to  the  Empire,  like  Armorica 
and  the  Cottian  Alps,  human  blood  was  shed  in  the  Campus 
Martins  at  the  time  of  Ca?sar,  and  human  victims  were  slain 
at  the  old  federal  temple  on  Monte  Cavo  and  in  Diana's 
grove  at  Nemi,  under  the  Empire.  The  Christian  apolo- 
gists, Justin,  Tatian,  Minucius  Felix,  Tertullian,  Lactan- 
tius,  and  Prudentius  are  unanimous  in  attributing  the  deed 
to  the  pagans.  Perhaps  they  exaggerate  ;  perhaps  their 


Figurines,  probably  representing  human 
victims. 


16       THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM. 

complaints  have  no  more  ground  to  stand  upon  than  those 
which  are  repeated  in  our  own  days  against  the  Russian  or 
the  Hungarian  Jews ;  but  I  am  not  speaking  of  the  third 
or  fourth  century  after  Christ.  I  am  speaking  of  the  early 
days  of  the  City,  when  the  people  had  not  yet  developed 
the  wonderful  practical  sense  of  a  later  age,  when  little 
value  was  attached  to  human  life,  and  when  religion  had 
not  yet  lost  the  ferocity  common  to  uncivilized  races.  Why 
should  we  find  in  Rome  so  many  substitutions  for  a  reg- 
ularly recurring  human  sacrifice  if  it  had  not  been  actu- 
ally practised  in  bygone  times  ?  We  find  them  in  the  ver 
sacrum  when  the  firstborn  of  a  tribe  was  devoted  to  a 
god,  and  sent  out  from  the  City ;  we  find  them  in  the 
iMpervalia  when  the  young  men  were  smeared  with  the 
victim's  blood ;  we  find  them  in  the  spilling  of  the  blood  of 
a  gladiator  at  iheferice  Latince  on  the  Alban  hills.  These 
rites  were  meant  to  perpetuate  the  cruel  tradition  in  a 
mysterious  and  attenuated  form.  Every  year,  in  the  month 
of  June,  when  the  fishermen  of  the  Tiber  celebrated  their 
gathering,  live  fishes  were  offered  to  Vulcan  as  substitutes 
for  human  souls  (pro  animis  humanis).  The  Vulcanal  was 
the  scene  of  another  strange  performance  on  the  feast  day 
of  Maia,  the  wife  of  Vulcan,  when  heads  of  garlic  and  of 
poppies  were  offered  to  her  in  substitution  for  infants,  whose 
sacrifice,  tolerated  by  the  Kings,  was  only  abolished  by  Bru- 
tus after  the  expulsion  of  the  Tarquins.  In  the  month  of 
May  rush-puppets  resembling  men,  tied  hand  and  foot, 
were  cast  into  the  Tiber  from  the  Sublician  bridge.  As 
a  last  instance  I  quote  the  fate  of  Mettus  Curtius,  and  his 
leaping  into  the  chasm,  the  edges  of  which  closed  over  him 
like  the  lid  of  a  grave  ;  because,  considering  the  fact  that 
the  plague  was  raging  in  Rome  at  the  time,  his  action  must 
be  interpreted  as  a  human  sacrifice,  as  a  self-immolation. 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM.       17 

Considering  all  these  things,  we  cannot  behold  these  fig- 
urines of  men  stiff  in  the  rigidity  of  death,  or  wound  up  in 
bands  like  mummies,  without  a  certain  emotion,  connected 
as  they  are  with  the  severe  and  melancholy  practices  of  early 
Sabino-Roman  worship.  The  sacrificial  layer  of  which  they 
form  part  contains  other  objects  of  interest,  which  are  now 
exhibited  in  a  room  on  the  Sacra  Via,  near  the  remains  of 
the  arch  of  Fabius.1  Numerous  above  all  are  the  fragments 
of  black  ware  which  was  never  used  for  the  necessities  of 
life,  but  made  expressly  for  funeral  purposes.  The  goblets 
and  cups  are  never  whole, 
being  represented,  as  a  rule, 
by  one  single  fragment,  in 
accordance  with  another 
ritual  practice  significant 
of  the  end  of  the  funeral 
banquet. 

These  vases  are  either  of 
buccaro  (black  clay)  or  of 
local  imitation  of  buccaro ; 
a  few  other  fragments 
belong  to  Greek  pottery 
which  must  have  been  im- 
ported into  Rome  by  the 
way  of  Etruria.  The  cut  on  page  19  represents  a  piece  of  a 
Chalcidian  amphora,  with  the  figure  of  Dionysos  riding  a 
donkey,  and  holding  the  drinking  cup  with  the  right  hand, 
in  a  style  which  is  peculiar  and  characteristic  of  the  end  of 
the  seventh  and  of  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century  B.  c. 
This  piece  was  found  nearer  to  the  bottom  than  to  the  sur- 


A  votive  terracotta  panel. 


1  A  special  museum  for  the  antiquities  of  the  Forum  will  shortly  be  estab- 
lished in  the  ex-conveut  of  S.  Fraucesca  Konuuia,  by  the  Temple  of  Venus  and 
Rome. 


18       THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM. 

face  of  the  votive  layer.  Taking,  therefore,  the  end  of  the 
seventh  century  as  the  beginning  of  the  formation  of  the 
layer,  we  are  sure  that  the  hero-worship,  in  this  rude  primi- 
tive form,  lasted  for  a  long  time,  because  other  fragments 
of  Attic  pottery  have  been  picked  up  near  the  surface  which 
date  from  about  550  B.  c.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  the 
practice  of  offering  ex-votos  was  given  up  at  that  date ;  on 
the  contrary,  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  it  was  con- 
tinued as  late  as  the  burning  of  Rome  by  the  Gauls  in  390 
B.  c.,  and  even  later,  but  the  upper  strata  have  disappeared 
in  the  general  wreck  of  the  Comitium,  together  with  the 
lions  and  the  upper  portions  of  the  pillar  and  the  pyramid. 
When  the  damages  of  the  wreck  were  made  good,  the  Senate 
House  rebuilt,  the  Comitium  restored  to  its  original  design, 
its  level  raised  by  about  three  feet,  and  the  Heroon  con- 
cealed for  the  first  time  under  a  flooring  of  black  stones, 
regular  wells  were  provided  all  round,  so  that  the  votive  offer- 
ings woulds  no  longer  be  cast  loose  and  spread  all  over  the 
place,  but  put  down  in  regular  and  duly  consecrated  recep- 
tacles. The  number  of  these  votive  wells  known  to  us  is 
constantly  increasing  :  probably  there  were  as  many  as  there 
were  tribes  in  Rome,  viz.,  thirty-five.  Some  are  diamond 
shaped,  some  trapezoid ;  but  the  majority  are  square  and 
about  four  feet  deep.  Unfortunately  they  have  been  found 
empty,  or,  to  speak  more  exactly,  filled  only  with  mud  and 
fine  earth,  that  had  filtered  through  the  interstices  of  the 
lid  with  which  their  openings  were  sealed  when  the  Forum 
and  the  Comitium  were  raised  to  a  still  higher  level.  One 
of  these  sacred  wells  appears  in  the  plan  of  the  Heroon 
given  above  (p.  9). 

The  sacrificial  layer  contains  a  great  variety  of  objects : 
some  of  personal  wear,  like  fibula?  and  clay  beads ;  some 
connected  with  the  pleasures  of  life,  such  as  dice  and  astra- 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM.       19 

galoi.  No  trace  of  coined  metal  has  been  found,  but  only 
bits  of  copper  or  bronze,  the  analysis  of  which  has  not  been 
published  yet.  I  believe  that  when  the  Forum  was  raised 
to  its  highest  level,  about  the  time  of  Sulla  or  of  Caesar, 
the  contents  of  the  wells  were  spread  over  and  around  the 
Heroon.  No  wonder,  therefore,  that  the  layer  should  con- 
tain objects  pertaining  to  the  last  century  of  the  Republic. 

Pillars,  according  to  Servius,  are  another  characteristic 
mark  of  the  graves  of  heroes.  The  one  discovered  near  the 
pedestal  of  the  west  lion  —  overthrown  by  the  Gauls  so  that 
only  its  lowest  section  is  left  standing  to  tell  the  tale  —  is 
slightly  tapering  in  shape.  Without  borrowing  from  Greece 
and  Sicily  instances  of  this  architectural  device  to  honor  and 
perpetuate  the  memory  of  great  men,  we  find  in  the  Forum 
itself  parallel  cases  in  the  Columna  Msenia,  in  the  Columna 
Julia,  in  the  grave  of  the  Charioteer,  and  in  the  naval  pillar 
of  Duilius.  The  fate  of  the  Charioteer  is  told  by  Dionysius. 
He  was  struck  by  lightning  while  racing  in  the  Circus,  and 
his  remains  were  interred  at  the  foot  of  the  Janiculum  ; 
but  mysterious  events  began  to 
spread  such  terror  in  the  neigh- 
borhood that  the  Senate  ordered 
the  body  to  be  removed  to  the 
Vulcanal,  where  a  column  with 
the  effigy  of  the  deceased  was 
raised  over  the  grave. 

When  the  partisans  of  Caesar, 
the  first  deified  Roman   of  his- 
torical times,  determined  to  con- 
secrate the  spot  where  his  body    Fragment  of  a  Chaicidian 
had  been  cremated,  at  the  east 

end  of  the  Forum  (just  as  the  opposite  or  west  end  was 
sacred  to  the  memory  of  the  founder  of  the  City),  they 


20       THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM. 

saw  no  better  means  of  carrying  out  their  design  than  the 
raising  of  a  column  of  Numidian  marble,  twenty  feet  high, 
inscribed  PARENTI  PATRICE  (to  the  Father  of  the  country). 

The  pedestal  of  this  column  is  still  to  be  seen  in  a  semi- 
circular recess  in  front  of  the  temple  of  Ca3sar,  as  shown  in 
the  illustration  below. 

The  interest  of  this  beautiful  chain  of  discoveries  culmi- 
nates in  the  inscribed  stele  or  pyramid,  still  standing,  after 


The  newly  found  base  of  the  Julian  pillar. 

twenty-five  centuries,  on  the  identical  site  where  one  of  the 
Kings  had  set  it  up,  near  the  place  of  assembly  of  the 
Elders.  The  inscription  was  engraved  by  the  stonecutter 
while  the  block  lay  horizontal,  running  first  from  the  right 
to  the  left,  and  going  on  backwards  and  forwards  like  the 
plough  in  the  wheatfield  (fiovcrTpo<f)r)$6v).  This  very  early 
style  of  palaeography,  not  uncommon  in  Greece,  was  un- 
known to  the  Etruscans,  Umbrians,  Oscans,  and  also  (we 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN   THE  FORUM.       21 


believed)  to  the  Latins.  It  appears  in  a  few  inscriptions 
from  Picenum  and  Marsica,  lands  inhabited  by  a  rough  and 
uncultured  race,  which  followed  early  traditions  and  habits 
to  a  very  late  pe- 
riod. Considering 
that  the  fiovcrrpo- 
(£17801'  was  in  use 
only  during  the 
seventh  and  sixth 
centuries  B.  c.,  and, 
furthermore,  that 

the    words    of    the    BA  >-^-'-*3  O/^ 
inscription  are  sepa- 
rated by  three  ver- 
tical dots,  —  a  mode 
of     punctuation 
which     dates     also 
from  the  end  of  the 
seventh  and  the  be- 
ginning of  the  sixth  century,  —  we  are  entitled  to  believe 
that  the  stele  must  belong  to  the  same  age. 

It  seems  that  the  primitive  Romans  became  acquainted 
with  the  Greek  (Doric-Corinthian  )  alphabet,  not  by  the 
wray  of  Cumae,  as  was  thought  at  first,  but  by  the  way  of 
Caere.  From  Caere,  likewise,  came  the  alphabet  in  use  at 
Veii,  a  splendid  specimen  of  which  was  discovered  in  my 
presence  at  Formello  in  1878,  engraved  on  a  buccaro 
vase1  now  in  the  collection  of  Prince  Chigi.  In  fact,  the 
Romans  borrowed  from  Caere  not  only  the  fifteen  or  sixteen 
letters  of  their  early  alphabet,2  but  also  their  religious 

1  Moulded  in  black  clay,  dull,  not  shiny. 

2  According  to  Iginus,  Carmenta  transferred  to  Latium  only  fifteen  letters, 
while  Plutarch  asserts  that  sixteen  were  in  use  at  the  earliest  epoch.    Compare 


The  stele  or  inscribed  pyramid. 
General  view. 


22       THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM. 

institutions  ( Cteremoniae,  ceremonies).  The  stele  of  the 
Comitium  leaves  no  doubt  on  this  subject :  it  proves,  more- 
over, how  exact  are  early  Roman  annalists  and  historians  — 
whose  authority  it  has  been  the  fashion  to  deny,  and  whose 
word  it  has  been  the  fashion  to  disbelieve  —  when  they 
speak  of  the  laws  of  the  Kings  and  of  public  treaties 
engraved  on  wood  or  stone  in  a  language  that  could  be 
understood  no  more.  Polybius  (iii.  22)  mentions  this  fact 
apropos  of  the  convention,  signed  Anno  Urbis  245,  between 
the  Romans  and  the  Carthaginians. 

Dionysius  (iv.  26)  describes  a  bronze  stele  of  the  time  of 
King  Servius  Tullius  upon  which  archaic  Greek  letters  were 
engraved.  Livy  (xl.  29)  says  that  the  volumes  found  in 
Numa's  coffin  in  the  field  of  L.  Petillius  were  written  in 
Greco-Latin  characters.  Pliny  (xvi.  87)  describes  a  vener- 
able oak  in  the  Vatican  district,  believed  to  be  older  than 
Rome  itself,  to  which  a  label  written  in  Etruscan  letters 
was  nailed,  declaring  the  tree  to  be  a  sacred  object.  Tacitus 
himself  compares  the  lettering  of  these  ancient  records  to 
the  oldest  Hellenic  specimens  of  handwriting. 

All  these  invaluable  documents  perished  in  the  Gaulish 
fire  of  390  B.  c.  "  Parvae  et  rara?  per  eadem  tempora  literse 
fuere,"  Livy  says,  vi.  1,  "  quae  in  commentariis  pontificum 
aliisque  publicis  privatisque  erant  monumentis,  incensa 
urbe  (a  Gallis)  plerseque  interiere."  This  rough  block  of 
stone,  discovered  June  15,  1899,  is  the  only  one,  as  far  as 
we  know,  that  partially  escaped  destruction  in  that  great 
catastrophe.  It  contains  a  pontifical  law,  which  is  at  the 

Bre"al,  Sur  les  rapports  de  V  alphabet  e'trusque  avec  V alphabet  latin,  in  Mem. 
Societe  Linguistique,  Paris,  viii.,  1889,  pp.  129-134.  Lenormant,  Melanges 
d'archeol.  et  d'hist.,  1883,  p.  302. 

1  "  Literature  was  then  in  its  infancy  :  the  rare  and  simple  documents  of 
those  early  days,  such  as  the  pontifical  records,  and  public  and  private  deeds, 
were  lost,  save  a  few  exceptions,  in  the  Gaulish  fire." 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES   IN  THE  FORUM.       23 

same  time  a  royal  law,  specifying  the  ritual  of  certain  pub- 
lic sacrifices,  in  the  dialect  spoken  in  Rome  towards  the  end 
of  the  seventh  century  before  Christ.  It  appears  as  if  Livy 
must  have  had  this  stele  before  his  eyes,  or  fresh  in  his 
memory,  when  he  wrote  the  well-known  passage  (i.  20) : 


The  stele  of  the  Comitium.     Details  of  the  east  face. 

"  Numa  Pompilius  selected  a  high  priest,  and  gave  him  a 
sacred  code,  in  which  the  ritual  of  sacrifices  was  specified, 
what  victims  ought  to  be  slain,  on  what  days  of  the  year, 
at  what  temples,"  etc.  The  whole  inscription  of  the  stele 


24       THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM. 

is  summarized  in  Livy's  words :  quibus  hostiis  (FORDAS, 
SORDAS)  quibus  diebus  (EIDIASIAS,  NOUNASIAS)  ad  quce 
templa  (SAKROS  SESED,  SAKROS  SED).1  The  document 
abounds  in  words  —  abounds,  in  comparison  with  the  total 
—  which  do  not  appear  in  the  Latin  language  :  another 
proof  of  remote  antiquity,  because,  as  Horace  expresses  it, 
"  words  are  formed  and  die  out  like  the  leaves  of  the  tree," 
but  the  years  in  the  life  of  words  are  centuries  ! 

Professor  Ceci  reads  the  inscription  and  supplies  the 
missing  words  as  follows  :  — 

"  Quoi  ho(rdas  veigead,  veigetod)  sakros  sesed.  Sor(das 
sakros  sed.  Eid)iasias  regei  lo(iba  adferad  ad  rem  d)evam. 
Quos  re(x  per  mentore)m  kalatorem  hap(ead  endo  ada)giod, 
ioux  menta  capia(d)  dota  v(ovead.  Ini)m  ite  ri  k(oised 
nounasias  i)m.  Quoi  havelod  nequ(atn  sied  dolod  malo)d, 
diove  estod.  (Qu)oi  voviod  (sacer  diove  estod)." 

"  Whoever  wants  to  immolate  pregnant  cows  [fordas], 
he  should  do  it  by  the  shrine.  Pregnant  sows  should  be 
immolated  away  from  the  shrine.  The  ritual  cakes  used  in 
sacrificing  should  be  brought  to  the  rex  sacrorum  at  the  time 
of  the  full  moon.2  Whoever  wants  to  immolate  pregnant 
cows  or  sows,  having  obtained  leave  from  the  rex  sacrorum 
through  the  kalator,  must  take  the  auspices,  and  present 
his  votive  offerings.  The  same  rules  must  be  followed  when 
sacrifices  are  performed  at  the  first  quarter  of  the  moon  [the 
Nona3  of  later  times].  Whosoever  disregards  the  sacred 

1  Compare  Livy,  v.  52,  where  Camillas  speaks  of  the  sacred  laws,  stating  the 
days  as  well  as  the  places  chosen  for  the  performing  of  sacrifices.    Dionysius  (ii. 
73,  74)  says  that  Numa's  legislation  on  religious   matters  was  collected   in 
eight  volumes,  as  many  as  there  were  priestly  colleges. 

2  The  Idus,  in  the  later  sense    of  the  word,  indicates  the  13th  day  of  the 
month,  except  in  March,  May,  July,  and  October,  when  it  fell  on  the  15th  ; 
but  originally  it  indicated  the  full  moon,  from  the  Etruscan  verb  "  iduare,"  to 
divide,  because  the  full  moon  divides  the  lunar  months. 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM.       25 

laws  concerning  the  auspices  and  the  votive  offerings,  let 
him  be  sacred  to  Jupiter"  (which  means  that  he  may  be 
killed  with  impunity). 

Professor  Ceci  ends  his  report  with  this  remarkable 
sentence :  "  I  shall  not  say  that  the  discovery  of  the 
stele  marks  the  '  bankruptcy '  of  the  modern  hypercritical 
school,  especially  German,  but  one  thing  is  certain  :  the 
discovery  will  shake  the  faith  of  the  many  who  have  sworn 
blindly  by  the  word  of  Niebuhr  and  Ihne  and  will  revive  the 
hopes  of  the  few  who  trust  to  the  authority  of  Livy,  and 
believe  in  the  historical  value  of  early  Roman  traditions." 

These  words,  the  reader  may  well  imagine,  have  occa- 
sioned a  great  outcry  on  either  side  of  the  Alps,  for  the 
hypercritical  school  counts  many  adepts  in  Italy,  even  more 
"  negative  "  than  their  ultramontane  teachers  ;  they  remind 
us  of  certain  adepts  of  the  Wagnerian  school,  who,  in  their 
attempt  to  follow  in  the  wake  of  the  great  master,  have 
gone  to  extremes  unknown  to  him,  and  have  produced  lace- 
rating sounds  instead  of  harmony. 

A  just  and  impartial  account  of  the  controversy  over  Ceci's 
publication  has  been  given  by  Giacomo  Tropea,  professor 
of  ancient  history  in  the  University  of  Messina ; l  another 
by  Raffaele  de  Cara,  in  the  last  two  volumes  of  the  Civilta 
Cattolica.  We  do  not  know  whether  Professor  Ceci  is  right 
or  wrong  ;  but  his  interpretation  of  the  stele  has  nothing 
to  do  with  the  main  question  at  issue.  The  date  of  the 
monument  does  not  depend  exclusively  upon  the  meaning 
of  the  words  inscribed  on  it ;  but  it  can  be  determined  from 
other  points  of  view,  such  as  that  of  its  topographical  sur- 

1  La  stele  arcaica  del  foro  romano  :  Cronaca  della  scoperta  e  ddla  discussione, 
May  to  December,  1899.  Messina,  D'  Amico.  Compare,  also,  Von  Duhn, 
Fundumstande  und  Fundort  der  altesten  lateinischen  Steininschrift  am  Forum 
Romannm,  a  reprint  from  the  Neue  Heidelberger  Jahrbucher,  July,  1899. 


26       THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM. 

roundings  and  of  its  depth  below  the  level  of  the  republican 
and  imperial  fora.  The  Heroon  occupies  the  level  trodden 
by  human  feet  in  the  valley  of  the  Forum  at  the  time  of 
the  Kings  when  the  greater  part  of  the  space  between 
the  Capitoline  and  the  Palatine  hills  was  a  swamp  fed  by 
the  unruly  river,  which  drained  the  valley  of  Quirinus,  the 
Subura,  the  Carinae  and  the  Argiletum,  and  by  copious  local 
springs.  Now  the  first  thought  of  the  dwellers  on  the 
Palatine,  as  soon  as  they  had  joined  hands  with  the  Sabines 
of  the  Quirinal,  and  made  one  city  out  of  the  various  tribal 
settlements  of  the  Septimontium,  was  to  drain  the  land 
which  they  had  selected  for  their  market,  and  where  they 
were  wont  to  assemble  on  election  days.  The  scheme,  ac- 
cording to  tradition,  was  carried  into  execution  by  the  elder 
Tarquin,  who  lined  the  banks  of  the  stream  (Spinon  ?)  with 
great  square  blocks  of  stone,  leaving  a  channel  about  five 
feet  wide  so  as  to  prevent  the  spreading  of  flood-water,  and 
to  provide  the  low-lying  district  with  a  permanent  outlet. 
The  increase  of  the  population,  the  development  of  public 
and  private  constructions,  the  expansion  of  traffic  soon  made 
it  necessary  to  cover  the  channel  and  make  it  run  under- 
ground. This  second  step  was  taken  under  the  rule  of  the 
second  Tarquin,  as  described  by  Livy  in  chapters  xxxviii. 
and  Ivi.  of  the  first  book.  We  need  not,  however,  depend 
upon  the  testimony  of  ancient  writers  in  ascertaining  the 
chronology  of  these  undertakings,  so  essential  to  the  welfare, 
nay,  to  the  very  existence  of  a  city,  especially  when  the  city 
occupied  the  centre  of  "  a  pestilential  region."  That  the 
Cloaca  Maxima  was  built  and  vaulted  over  at  the  time  of 
the  Kings,  before  the  middle  of  the  third  century  of  Rome, 
by  Etruscan  masons  and  Etruscan  engineers,  is  a  fact 
absolutely  unquestioned  in  the  mind  of  any  one  acquainted 
with  the  hydrography,  geology,  and  archaeology  of  Rome  and 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM.       27 

Etruria.    Now  when  the  Heroon  of  Romulus  was  put  up  in 
the  Comitium  within  a  few  feet  of  the  Cloaca  Maxima,  this 


' 


The  votive  vase  of  Dvenos. 


last  was  still  an  open  channel  without  a  roof  !  The  level  of 
the  Heroon  is  three  or  four  feet  lower  than  the  vaulted 
ceiling  of  the  cloaca,  which  must  have  run  in  its  turn  two 
or  three  feet  below  the  level  of  the  ground. 


28       THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM. 

The  arguments  which  the  hypercritics  bring  forth,  in 
their  attempt  to  break  this  chain  of  evidence,  are  rather 
vague  and  frail.  They  insist  on  the  fact  that  the  stele  must 
have  been  inscribed  and  set  up  in  the  Comitium  after  the 
retreat  of  the  Gauls,  390  B.  c. ;  and  that  it  is,  therefore,  a 
much  later  legend  than  that  engraved  on  the  votive  vase  of 
Dvenos,1  because  the  plinth  of  the  lions  and  the  sacrificial 
stone  were  cut  by  a  workman  acquainted  with  the  value  and 
the  use  of  the  Attic  foot ;  and  as  this  standard  measure 
was  unknown  in  Rome  before  the  time  of  the  Decemvirs 
(451-449  B.  c.),  the  Heroon  must  be  a  work  of  that  com- 
paratively late  period.  This  argument  is  a  favorite  one 
with  the  skeptical  school,  as  it  gives  them  the  means  of  deny- 
ing and  upsetting  not  only  the  history  but  the  topography 
of  Rome  for  the  first  three  centuries  of  its  existence.  In 
fact,  the  Romans  being  an  ignorant,  barbarous,  wild  race, 
the  like  of  which,  according  to  the  skeptics,  could  hardly  be 
found  now  in  the  central  wilderness  of  New  Guinea,  how 
could  they  be  supposed  to  have  lived  in  a  city  built  in 
harmony  with  the  rules  of  civilization  ?  Down,  therefore, 
with  the  walls  of  the  Palatine  city,  with  those  of  Servius 
Tullius  ;  down  with  the  Prison  of  Ancus  Marcius,  with  the 
Cloaca  Maxima  of  Tarquinius  Priscus,  with  the  temple  of 
Jupiter  Capitolinus  of  Tarquinius  Superbus !  All  these 
landmarks  of  the  early  days  of  Rome  must  be  later  than 
the  Decemvirs,  because  their  builders  knew  the  existence  of 
the  Attic  foot !  And  when  I  announced  in  1882  the  dis- 
covery of  Antemnse,  as  that  of  a  settlement  contemporary 

1  The  votive  vase  of  Dvenos,  with  its  remarkable  archaic  inscription,  was 
discovered  in  1880  in  the  foundations  of  the  Villa  Buffer,  on  the  south  slope  of 
the  Quirinal,  near  the  church  of  S.  Vitale.  No  satisfactory  interpretation  of 
the  text —  edited  first  by  Heinrich  Dressel  in  Annal.  Instit.,  1880,  p.  158  —  has 
been  given  yet.  At  all  events,  it  was  the  oldest  known  Latin  inscription  before 
the  discovery  of  the  stele. 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN   THE  FORUM.       29 


with  the  foundation  of  Rome,  I  must  have  been  laboring 
under  a  delusion,  because  the  stones  with  which  the  walls 
of  that  place  are  built  measure  exactly  two  feet  in  height ! 

It  seems  hardly  credible  that  such  theories  can  be  ad- 
vanced in  the  presence  and  in  the  light  of  so  many  discov- 
eries by  which  the  fundamental  truth  of  Roman  tradition 
is  amply  justified.  From  the  earliest  days  the  Romans 
borrowed  masons  and  stonecutters  from  their  immediate 
neighbors,  the  Etruscans  of  Veii,1  just  as  they  had  bor- 
rowed from  the  Etruscans  of  Caere  their  ceremonies  and 
their  alphabet,  from 
the  Etruscans  of 
Vulci  their  vulcani' 
or  coppersmiths.  If 
we  find  a  similarity 
between  the  Attic, 
the  Etruscan,  and 
the  Roman  foot  in 
those  remote  days, 
the  reason  is  evi- 
dent ;  the  fundamen- 
tal principles  of  their 
architecture  and  me- 
trology descend  from 
a  common  source. 
The  prehistoric  for- 
tified villages,  known 
by  the  name  of  Ter- 

Peclestal  of  the  east  lion. 

ramare,      discovered 

by  Pigorini   in  the  valley  of  the   Po  and  of  its  affluents, 

were  also  designed  and  built  by  engineers  familiar  with  the 

1  The  connection  between  the  two  cities  was  so  close  that  the  bank  of  the 
Tiber,  opposite  the  Palatine  hill,  was  named  RIPA  VEIENTANA. 


30       THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM. 

principles  of  the  "  agrimetatio "  on  the  basis  of  the  foot 
(.297  metres).  For  all  purposes  let  me  repeat  that  the  use 
of  the  Attic  foot,  as  far  as  the  Heroon  Romuli  is  concerned, 
has  been  ascertained  only  in  connection  with  the  plinth  of 
the  pedestals  of  the  lions  (which  measures  .29  metres  in 
height)  and  with  the  sacrificial  stone  (which  is  one  foot 
thick,  and  two  and  a  half  feet  long).  All  the  rest  seems 
to  be  cut  at  random. 

This  affair  of  the  Attic  measure  finds  its  counterpart  in 
another  statement  of  the  negative  school,  that  the  laws 
of  the  XII.  Tables  are  also  a  product  of  the  time  of  the 
Decemvirs,  because  we  find  use.d  in  them  the  word  pwna, 
which  must  have  been  imported  from  Greece  (TTOIVT?)  by  the 
Decemvirs  themselves ! 

To  conclude.  Since  the  discovery  of  the  Heroon  Romuli 
in  the  Comitium  and  of  the  archaic  stele,  —  whatever  the 
meaning  of  its  legend  may  be,  —  the  history  of  ancient 
Rome  cannot  longer  be  written  in  the  distrustful  spirit  of 
the  hypercritical  school.  The  future  rests  with  our  con- 
servative party,  of  which  I  was  a  convinced  member  even 
at  a  time  when  it  required  a  certain  amount  of  courage  to 
be  recognized  as  such  and  to  meet  the  accusation  of  credu- 
lity, when  a  lecturer  could  not  name  the  founder  of  the 
City  as  a  man  who  had  actually  existed,  without  blushing 
before  his  audience.  As  Professor  Otto  Schmidt  remarks  in 
the  "  Neue  Jahrbucher  f.  Deutsch.  Liter."  (Leipzig,  1900, 
p.  52) :  "  Whoever  is  conversant  with  recent  German  liter- 
ature on  the  history  of  Rome  will  acknowledge  that  the  con- 
servative party  is  gaining  ground  every  day.  The  future 
is  in  the  hands  of  the  conservatives."  It  seems  to  me  rather 
a  good  turn  of  fortune  that  while  our  opponents  were  pro- 
claiming the  Forum  not  older  than  400  B.  c.,  that  dear 
old  place  should  reveal  to  us  the  most  convincing  proof 
of  its  remote  antiquity. 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM.       31 

The  tradition  about  the  grave  of  Romulus  never  died  out 
in  Rome ;  it  was  kept  alive  in  the  Comitium  by  outward 
signs  long  after  the  original  monument  had  been  concealed 
from  view  under  a  flooring  of  black  stones.  In  fact,  we 
find  it  confirmed  by  imperial  authority,  in  the  most  solemn 
form,  at  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century  after  Christ, 
when  Maxentius  raised,  in  front  of  the  Senate  House,  the 
pedestal  inscribed :  — 

MARTI  '    INVICTO  '    PATRI 

ET  '   ^ETERN^E   VRBIS  S\JE 

CONDITORIBVS  ! 

( u  To  Mars  the  invincible  father,  and  to  the  founders  of 
his  eternal  City  !  ")  This  pedestal,  discovered  November 
12,  1899,  dates  probably  from  312  A.  D.  It  seems  that  at 
the  beginning  of  that  eventful  year,  Maxentius,  having  de- 
clared war  against  Constantine  under  the  plea  that  he  had 
caused  the  death  of  his  father  Maximianus,  not  only  made 
elaborate  preparations  to  stop  the  advance  of  Constantine's 
army,  but  endeavored  also  to  propitiate  the  gods  in  his 
favor,  those  especially  to  whom  the  welfare  of  the  City  was 
entrusted.  It  is  necessary  to  remember  that  when  Diocle- 
tian divided  the  Roman  empire  into  two  parts  and  four 
sections,  and  gave  them  up  to  his  colleagues,  Maximum, 
Galerius,  and  Chlorus,  besides  his  own  leading  share,  —  and 
when  Nicomedia  was  chosen  as  the  capital  of  the  eastern, 
and  Milan  of  the  western  empire,  Rome,  the  glorious  City 
which  had  ruled  the  world  for  centuries,  was  reduced  to 
the  rank  of  a  provincial  town. 

After  the  abdication  of  Diocletian  and  Maximian,  May, 
305,  Galerius  and  Chlorus  became  emperors  (Augusti), 
while  Severus  and  Daza  were  raised  to  the  rank  of  Caesars. 
The  presence  of  so  many  barbarians  at  the  head  of  the 


32       THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM. 

state  exasperated  the  army ;  revolutions  and  civil  wars 
broke  out  in  Brittany,  in  northern  Italy,  and  in  the  East, 
with  the  result  that,  three  years  later,  in  308,  the  number 
of  rulers  had  increased  to  six,  the  last  comers  being  Con- 
stantine  son  of  Chlorus,  and  Maxentius  son  of  Maximian. 
Maxentius  had  a  true  Roman  heart.  In  spite  of  the  anxious 
political  situation  which  gave  him  no  peace  and  no  rest,  he 
tried  to  revive  in  Rome  the  tradition  of  its  old  greatness, 
and  to  emulate  the  Emperors  of  the  golden  days  in  the 
magnificence  of  his  structures.  I  shall  describe  in  the  next 
chapter  his  reconstruction  of  the  Clivus  Sacrae  Vise,  which 
he  transformed  from  a  narrow  irregular  lane  into  a  great 
avenue  sixty-seven  feet  wide,  lining  it  on  one  side  with  the 
Porticus  Margaritaria,  on  the  other  with  the  Heroon  of  his 
son  Romulus  and  with  the  Basilica  Nova.  In  the  outskirts 
of  the  city  he  transformed  the  old  Triopium  of  Herodes 
Atticus,  described  in  "  Pagan  and  Christian  Rome,"  p.  287, 
into  an  imperial  suburban  residence,  adding  to  the  accom- 
modations of  the  place  a  circus,  a  palace,  a  basilica,  and 
a  family  mausoleum.  He  considerably  improved  his  own 
family  estate  at  the  fourteenth  milestone  of  the  Via  Labi- 
cana,  changing  it  from  a  farm  into  a  villa.  I  visited  this 
delightf ul  corner  of  the  Campagna,  now  called  San  Cesario, 
in  the  course  of  last  winter.  The  villa  rivals  in  extent  that 
of  the  Quintilii  on  the  Appian  Way,  while  it  surpasses  it 
in  natural  beauty,  with  its  well-wooded  and  well-watered 
dales,  winding  among  vine-clad  hills,  writh  the  mountains 
of  Praeneste  for  a  background,  shaded  by  olive  groves,  and 
crowned  by  the  Pelasgic  fortress  of  Castel  S.  Pietro.  Here 
two  pedestals  were  found  in  1705,  dedicated  by  Valerius 
Romulus,  one  to  his  father  Maxentius  "  patri  benignissimo 
pro  amore  caritatis  eius,"  one  to  his  mother  Valeria  Maxi- 
milla  "  matri  carissimae  pro  amore  adfectionis  eius."  These 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE   FORUM.       33 

terms  of  filial  devotion  and  endearment  were  not  dictated 
for  appearance,  nor  intended  to  be  read  by  outsiders  ;  there- 
fore they  speak  the  truth,  and  give  us  a  glimpse  of  the 
intimate  life  of  the  happy  trio  in  their  peaceful  retreat  on 
the  Via  Labicana,  which  they  had  enriched  with  a  magnifi- 
cent collection  of  works  of  art.  The  many  specimens  of 
statuary,  and  the  set  of  portrait-busts  found  by  the  present 
owners  of  the  estate,  have  just  been  sold  to  a  dealer,  and 
dispersed  among  various  collectors  on  either  side  of  the 
Atlantic. 

If  we  add  to  the  list  of  these  works  the  restoration  of  the 


Marbles  discovered  in  the  villa  of  Maxentius  at  S.  Cesario. 

Appian  Way  from  Rome  to  Brindisi,  of  the  road  to  Lauren- 
turn,  and  of  several  aqueducts,  we  must  admit  that  very  few 
Emperors  have  done  as  much,  in  the  space  of  four  years,  as 
Maxentius  did  between  April  21,  A.  D.  308,  the  date  of  his 
accession  to  the  throne,  and  October  27,  312,  the  day  he 


34       THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE   FORUM. 

was  drowned  in  the  Tiber  while  retreating  from  the  battle- 
field of  Saxa  Rubra.  The  pedestal  lately  found  in  the 
Comitium  testifies  to  the  true  Roman  spirit  of  Maxentius, 
in  his  attempt  to  relieve  the  fortunes  of  his  dear  city.  An- 
other inscription  found  in  the  Forum,  which  begins  with 
the  words,  "  censurse  veteris,  pietatisque  singularis,  domino 
nostro  Maxentio,"  seems  to  allude  to  this  tenacity  of  pur- 
pose for  the  preservation  of  its  historical  greatness  against 
the  attempts  of  Diocletian  and  his  colleagues.1  He  raised 
the  pedestal  to  Mars,  to  Romulus  and  Remus,  because 
he  knew  that  under  the  flooring  of  black  stones,  near  by, 
there  lay  deep  underground  the  cenotaph  of  the  founder 
of  the  City,  of  the  son  of  Mars  and  Rhea  Silvia,  whose 
name  he  had  given  to  his  own  son.  And  to  make  the 
connection  between  the  old  and  the  new  monuments  more 
evident,  he  selected  for  the  dedication  of  this  last  the  an- 
niversary day  of  the  foundation  of  the  City,  the  glorious 
Palili«,  April  21 :  "  Dedicata  die  XI  Kal.  Maias  !  " 

In  the  legend  of  his  coins  Maxentius  always  addresses 
Rome  as  the  "  sterna  urbs  sua,"  and  speaks  of  himself  as 
the  "  conservator  urbis  suae."  These  coins  show  on  the 
reverse  the  figure  of  Rome  seated  on  a  throne  in  her  own 
temple  on  the  Summa  Sacra  Via,  on  the  pediment  of  which 
we  see  the  infant  twins  sucking  the  wolf.  Even  more  in- 
teresting from  the  point  of  view  of  the  last  discoveries  is 
a  medal  described  by  Eckhel,2  in  which  the  figure  of  Mars 
appears  in  company  with  that  of  the  wolf  and  her  nurslings. 
These  facts  and  these  considerations  give  weight  to  the 
conjecture  that  the  pedestal  of  Maxentius  did  not  support 
a  statue  of  Mars,  but  the  bronze  wolf  now  in  the  Capitoline 
museum. 

1  Corpus  Inscr.  Latin,  vi.  1220,  31394. 

2  Doctrina  numm.  viii.  p.  56.     Cohen,  Monn.  imper.  vi.  28. 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM.       35 
The  origin  of  this  celebrated  work  of  art  is  rather  obscure. 

o 

It  seems  that  in  the  old  days  of  Rome  there  was  a  statue  of 
Atta  Navius  on  the  steps  of  the  Curia  on  the  left,  marking 


The  Bronze  Wolf. 


the  spot  where  the  miracle-working  augur,  challenged  by 
Tarquin,  had  cut  the  whetstone  with  a  razor.  A  fig-tree 
close  by  was  held  in  veneration,  first,  because  it  had  been 
struck  by  lightning  and  made  sacred,  and  again  because  it 
symbolized  the  Ruminal  tree,  under  the  shade  of  which  the 
wolf  had  tendered  maternal  care  to  the  twins.  In  fact,  the 
people  believed  it  to  be  the  original  one,  transported  from 
the  Velabrum  to  the  Comitium  by  a  prodigy.  It  seems 
that  two  bronze  images  of  the  wolf  had  been  placed  under 
the  fig-tree  at  different  times  :  the  first  by  Atta  Navius 


36       THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM. 

himself,  and  this  one  probably  perished  in  the  Gaulish  fire ; 
the  second  in  B.  c.  295,  by  the  brothers  CnaBus  and  Quin- 
tus  Ogulnii,  who  devoted  to  its  casting  the  fines  collected 
from  the  usurers.  Ancient  writers  mention  a  third  wolf, 
also  cast  in  bronze  and  gilded,  placed  somewhere  in  the 
Capitol;  and  because  this  last  was  struck  by  lightning, 
under  the  consulship  of  Gotta  and  Torquatus,  B.  c.  64,  many 
antiquarians  have  identified  it  with  the  one  now  exhibited 
in  the  Palazzo  de'  Conservatori,  which  shows  the  right  hind 
leg  split  open  as  if  by  a  stroke  of  some  kind.  However, 
this  cannot  be  the  case,  because  Cicero  and  Dion  Cassius 
distinctly  state  that  both  the  beast  and  the  infants  were 
wrenched  from  their  stand  and  melted  ;  *  and  besides,  the 
existing  replica  has  never  been  gilded. 

Can  we  then  identify  it  with  the  original  placed  by  the 
brothers  Ogulnii  in  the  Comitium  ?  Helbig  says  no,  and 
I  beg  leave  to  quote  at  length  the  statement  he  makes  in 
vol.  i.  p.  460  of  his  "  Guide  to  the  Collections  of  Classical 
Antiquities  in  Rome,"  first  ed.,  1895.  "  The  she-wolf  of 
Rome  was  conceived  of  by  ancient  artists  in  two  different 
ways.  The  usual  mode  represents  her  suckling  the  twins 
and  turning  her  head  to  look  at  them.  More  rarely  she  is 
seen  without  the  twins,  and  in  a  threatening  attitude,  as, 
for  instance,  on  the  denarii  of  Publius  Satrienus  [p.  37]. 
The  Capitoline  wolf  reproduces  the  latter  motive.  With 
flashing  eye  and  gnashing  teeth  she  menaces  an  approach- 
ing foe.  The  terror-striking  effect  of  the  head  was  en- 
hanced by  the  glittering  enamel  of  the  deeply  incised  pupils, 
a  fragment  of  which  still  remains  in  the  right  eye.  If 
we  may  assume  that  the  development  of  early  Roman  art 
was  parallel  with  that  of  Etruria,  we  may  ascribe  the  execu- 
tion of  this  work  to  the  fifth  century  B.  c.  In  any  case,  we 

1  Cicero,  Catilin.  iii.  7  ;  De  divinat.  i.  13  ;  ii.  20.      Dion  Cassius,  xxxvii.  9. 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM.       37 

must  reject  the  hypothesis  that  it  is  identical  with  the  she- 
wolf  which  the  ^diles  Cnaeus  and  Quintus  Ogulnius  erected 
by  the  Ficus  Rmninalis  in  295  B.  c.  with  the  money  paid  in 
fines.  At  that  epoch  the  Romans  were  masters  of  Cam- 
pania, and  had  there  become  familiar  with  both  Hellenic 
and  Hellenistic  art,  and  hence  it  seems  incredible  that  in 
the  year  295  B.  c.  so  archaic  a  work  as  the  Capitoline  wolf 
could  have  been  publicly  installed  in  Rome."  Helbig's 
difficulty  may  be  obviated  by  supposing  that  the  artist  was 
commissioned  by  the  Ogulnii  to  reproduce  the  lost  original 
of  Atta  Navius,  rather  than  to  model  a  new  figure. 

Again,  we  cannot  agree  with  Helbig  as  regards  the  origin, 
or  rather  the  discovery,  of  the  Capitoline  bronze.  "  The 
basilica  of  St.  John  Lateran,"  he  says,  "was  entirely  rebuilt 
under  Pope  Sergius  III.  (904-911)  after  its 
destruction  by  an  earthquake  in  896.  It 
would  appear  quite  natural  that  a  desire  should 
then  have  arisen  to  adorn  the  piazza  in  front 
of  it  with  the  emblem  of  Rome.  As  the 
sculptors  of  the  time  were  incapable  of  pro-  TheWoif  inthe 
ducing  a  statue  in  any  degree  satisfactory,  trienus. 
search  was  made  for  some  ancient  work  of  the 
kind.  The  she-wolf  was  then  discovered,  lying  ruined  and 
forgotten,  perhaps  in  the  cellars  of  some  pagan  temple,  and 
was  entrusted  to  a  coppersmith  near  by,  to  be  patched  up  for 
its  position  in  front  of  the  Lateran."  a  These  conjectures 
would  be  acceptable  if  the  wolf  were  the  only  work  of  art 
cast  in  metal  collected  by  the  Popes  round  their  episcopal 
palace  :  but  besides  the  wolf,  there  was  the  equestrian  statue 
of  Marcus  Aurelius ;  the  Camillus,  known  in  the  middle  ages 
by  the  name  of  La  Zingara  or  the  Gypsy,  from  the  supposi- 

1  Helbig  thinks  that  the  wolf  "  has  been  most  barbarously  treated  by  a 
stupid  restorer." 

~   43332 


38       THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM. 

tion  that  the  right  hand  was  stretched  forward  for  purposes 
of  palmistry ;  the  Boy  extracting  a  thorn  ;  the  colossal  head 
of  Nero  ;  the  hand  of  another  colossal  statue  ;  the  bronze 
globe,  etc.,  all  of  which  were  removed  to  the  Conservatori 
palace  at  the  time  of  Sixtus  IV.  (1471).  All  these  celebrated 
bronzes  cannot  have  been  found  "  in  the  cellars  of  some 
pagan  temple  "  at  the  time  of  Sergius  III.,  viz.,  after  Rome 
had  been  pillaged  by  the  barbarians  and  by  her  own  citizens 
a  hundred  times  at  least,  and  after  even  the  roofs  of  old 
buildings  had  been  stripped  of  the  bronze  tiles.  The  Lat- 
eran  collection  must  have  been  formed  long  before  the 
tenth  century,  when  bronze  works  of  art  were  still  plen- 
tiful. 

The  wolf,  at  all  events,  is  mentioned  long  before  the 
time  of  Sergius  III.  Benedict  of  Mount  Soracte  speaks 
of  the  institution  of  a  court  of  justice  "  in  the  Lateran 
palace,  in  the  place  called  the  Wolf,  viz.,  the  mother  of  the 
Romans,"  as  an  event  of  the  beginning  of  the  ninth  cen- 
tury. Trials  and  executions  at  the  Wolf  are  recorded  from 
time  to  time  until  1438.  The  illustration  on  p.  39  refers 
to  the  cruel  punishment  of  Capocciolo  and  Garofolo,  on 
September  12  of  that  year,  for  having  stolen  certain  pre- 
cious stones  from  the  busts  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul,  which 
were  then  kept  in  the  ciborium  or  canopy  of  Urban  V. 
above  the  high  altar  of  the  Lateran.  Capocciolo  and  Garo- 
folo, who  were  beneficiaries  of  the  chapter,  had  their  right 
hands  cut  and  nailed  at  the  Wolf,  before  they  were  them- 
selves nailed  to  the  stakes  and  burnt  alive.  The  scene  of 
their  execution,  and  that  of  their  accomplice,  Nicola  da 
Valmontone,  who  as  a  canon  of  the  same  chapter  was  only 
hanged  on  a  tree,  was  painted  on  the  wall  of  the  transept 
by  order  of  Cardinal  Angelotto  de  Foschi.  The  original 
was  destroyed  by  Clement  VIII.  in  1587,  but  a  copy  is 


An  execution  "at  the  Wolf,"  A.  D.  1348: 
from  a  painting  formerly  in  the  Clemen- 
tine transept,  at  the  Lateran. 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM.       39 

preserved  in  the  archives 
of  the  chapter,  from  which 
my  illustration  is  taken. 

I  have  no  doubt  myself 
that  the  wolf,  kept  from 
immemorial  times  at  the 
Lateran,  is  the  very  one 
that  Maxentius  replaced  on 
the  newly  found  pedestal, 
after  the  fire  of  Carinus, 
by  which  the  Curia  and  the 
Comitium  were  so  seriously 
damaged.  But  whether  I 
am  right  or  not  in  my  be- 
lief, whether  the  wolf  or 
any  other  image  stood  on 

that  pedestal,  its  connection  with  the  Heroon  of  Romulus 
is  evident ;  and  we  cannot  read  without  emotion  this  last 
appeal  of  a  true  and  brave  emperor  to  the  founders  of  his 
dear  city  at  the  moment  he  was  going  to  face  Constantine 
on  the  field  of  battle.  Really,  between  this  unfortunate 
prince,  Roman  to  the  core,  and  his  antagonist,  who  was 
going  to  abandon  the  glorious  city  for  Constantinople,  we 
cannot  help  siding  with  the  first ;  we  cannot  help  wishing 
that  the  battle  of  Saxa  Rubra  had  had  a  different  issue. 

The  grave  of  Romulus  the  founder  of  the  City,  at  one 
end  of  the  Forum,  and  the  memorial  of  Romulus  the  son  of 
Maxentius,  at  the  other,  mark  the  beginning  and  the  end 
of  the  history  of  classic  Rome. 

The  floor  of  the  Comitium  in  front  of  the  Senate  House,  a 
perspective  view  of  which  is  reproduced  (page  41),  may  be 
called  an  historical  and  topographical  palimpsest.  We  can 
see  at  a  o-lance  several  pavements  at  various  levels,  each  one 


40       THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM. 

retaining  traces  of  the  special  treatment  to  which  the  Comi- 
tium  was  subjected  at  that  particular  period  of  its  history. 
Thus,  in  the  last  floor  but  one  we  perceive  signs  of  a  line 
of  columns  (A,  A')  running  parallel  with  the  front  of  the 
Curia  at  the  foot  of  the  steps  (B,  B'),  which  were  inclosed 
and  separated  from  the  public  section  of  the  Comitium  by  a 
bronze  railing  or  transenna  (C  C').  A  gutter  (D  D')  runs 
along  the  transenna,  to  carry  off  the  rain-water  from  the 
enclosure.  And  when  all  these  things  were  finally  covered 
by  a  stone  floor  (E,  E'),  a  beautiful  fountain  was  set  up  in 
front  of  the  main  door  of  the  Curia,  and  the  gutter  was 
utilized  to  lay  the  lead  pipe  which  carried  the  water  for  the 
jet. 

Nothing  is  left  of  the  fountain  except  the  lower  basin 
(F  F'),  which  collected  the  drippings  from  the  tazza  above, 
and  the  foundations  of  the  octagonal  pedestal  which  sup- 
ported the  tazza.  The  history  of  the  tazza  is  at  all  events 
very  interesting. 

First  of  all,  the  setting  up  of  this  fountain  in  the  last  days 
of  classic  Rome  belongs  to  a  cycle  of  works  carried  on  in 
the  Senate  House  and  its  neighborhood  at  the  beginning  of 
the  fifth  century,  when  the  principal  hall  was  restored  by 
the  prefect  Na3ratius,  and  the  Secretary's  offices  by  the  pre- 
fect Flavius  Annius  Eucharius.  Both  edifices  must  have 
been  damaged  by  the  Goths  of  Alaric  in  410.  The  foun- 
tain was  not  made  for  use  here,  but  was  removed  to  the 
Comitium  from  some  other  place.  Its  mouldings  are  too 
graceful,  and  the  cutting  of  the  slabs  too  neat  to  be  attrib- 
uted to  a  stonecutter  of  the  fifth  century.  It  seems,  in 
fact,  that  when  the  basin  was  lifted  to  its  new  level  or 
moved  to  its  new  place,  the  workmen  marked  its  eight 
marble  segments  with  the  first  eight  letters  of  the  alphabet 
so  as  to  avoid  any  difficulty  in  rejoining  them.  The  B  and 


THE   NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM.       43 

the  F  can  still  be  seen  at  the  joints  of  the  second  and  sixth 
segments. 

The  fountain  lasted  for  a  long  period,  probably  until  the 
cutting  of  the  aqueducts  by  Vitiges,  for  the  surface  of  the 
basin  was  worn  out  by  the  dripping  of  the  tazza,  and  a 
thick  line  of  lime  deposit  was  formed  around  the  rim.  At 
all  events,  this  was  not  the  only  fountain  of  the  Comitium  : 
there  was  another  into  which  the  water  flowed  from  the  urn 
of  a  recumbent  River-god  known,  since  the  early  middle 
ages,  by  the  name  of  Marforio  (Martis  forum). 

This  loquacious  and  sarcastic  River-god  has  had  the  for- 
tune, in  common  with  the  Nile  and  the  Tiber  now  in  the 


The  Marforio. 


Piazza  del  Campidoglio,  of  having  never  been  buried  and 
removed  from  sight  since  the  downfall  of  Rome.  We  can  fol- 
low his  career  before  and  after  the  Norman  pillage  of  1084, 
which  marks  the  first  disappearance  of  the  Forum  and  the 
Comitium  under  a  bed  of  rubbish.  The  so-called  Anonymus 
of  Einsiedeln  saw  it  near  the  church  of  S.  Martina  (the 
Secretarium  Senatus)  before  the  pillage  ;  and  it  is  constantly 


44       THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM, 

mentioned  in  the  Guide-books  for  pilgrims,  or  Mirabilia,  of 
a  later  date.  When  Giovanni  Ruccellai  visited  Rome  in  the 
Jubilee  of  1450  he  was  struck  at  the  sight  of  the  colossal 
figure  of  Marforio,  and  so  was  Nicholas  Miiffel  of  Nurem- 
berg, who  followed  Frederick  III.  in  his  visit  to  Nicholas  V. 
in  1452.  They  both  speak  with  admiration  of  the  "  gran 
simulacro  a  giacere,"  and  they  both  mention  the  tazza  of 
granite  into  which  he  used  once  to  pour  water.  This  feel- 
ing of  admiration  lasted  all  through  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury. Speaking  of  Michelangelo's  David,  Vasari  says  :  "  It 
stands  foremost  among  all  ancient  and  modern  works  of 
statuary,  and  neither  the  Marforio,  nor  the  Tiber  and  Nile 
of  Belvedere,  nor  the  Horse-tamers  of  the  Quirinal  can  bear 
comparison  with  it."  The  same  genial  biographer  relates 
of  Baccio  Bandinelli,  that  finding  himself  one  morning  in 
the  workshop  of  Girolamo  del  Buda,  while  the  adjoining 
Piazza  di  S.  Apollinare  was  covered  with  a  sheet  of  snow, 
the  young  artist  modelled  with  it  a  Marforio,  eight  cubits 
long,  which  was  a  marvel  to  behold. 

The  original  statue  was  removed  from  the  site  of  the 
Coinitium  at  the  time  of  Gregory  XIII.,  and  after  many  wan- 
derings was  given  a  resting-place  in  the  Piazza  del  Campi- 
doglio,  on  the  side  facing  the  Palazzo  dei  Conservatori,  where' 
the  Museo  Capitolino  now  stands,  and  while  old  Marforio 
was  thus  joining  company  with  the  Tiber  and  the  Nile,  which 
Michelangelo  had  already  located  on  the  south  side  of  the 
same  piazza  against  the  steps  of  the  Palazzo  del  Senatore, 
the  granite  tazza  was  left  abandoned  near  S.  Martina  until 
1593.  On  October  22  of  that  year  the  city  magistrates  ob- 
tained from  Cardinal  Alessandro  Farnese  a  piece  of  ground 
near  the  "  three  columns  "  of  Castor's  temple,  where  the 
basin  was  set  up  and  furnished  with  three  jets  of  the 
Felice  water  which  Pope  Sixtus  V.  had  just  gathered  from 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM.       47 

the  springs  of  Pantano.  It  was  finally  removed  to  its 
present  site,  between  the  Horse-tamers  in  the  Piazza  del 
Quirinale,  by  Pius  VII.  in  1817.  (See  page  49.) 

Marforio's  position  amongst  the  loquacious  statues  of 
Rome  is  not  prominent  like  that  of  Pasquino,  his  duty  be- 
ing confined  to  answering  his  friend's  sallies,  not  to  origi- 
nating them.  However,  "  a  neat  repartee  maketh  glad  the 
heart  of  the  utterer."  We  have  seen  what  the  career  of  the 
River-god  was,  after  the  water  ceased  to  flow,  from  the  urn 
on  which  his  elbow  rests,  into  the  fountain  of  the  Comi- 
tium.  Pasquino's  origin  is  altogether  obscure.  This  battered 
torso,  this  mutilated  fragment  of  a  grojip  considered  to  re- 
present Menelaus  supporting  the  dead  body  of  Patroclus, 
seems  to  have  been  discovered  by  Francesco  Orsini  while 
building  his  palace  in  the  region  of  Parione ;  and  when  the 
palace  —  demolished  by  Pius  VI.  to  make  room  for  his  own 
Palazzo  Braschi  —  was  rented  by  Cardinal  Oliviero  Caraffa, 
towards  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century,  the  torso  was  set 
upon  a  pedestal  with  the  inscription  :  "  I  owe  my  existence 
to  Oliver  Caraffa  :  A.  D.  1501."  How  was  it,  then,  that 
the  almost  shapeless  fragment  became  the  greatest  object  of 
curiosity  in  Rome?  According  to  Castelvetro's  version,  it 
derived  name  and  notoriety  from  a  sharp-tongued  and  witty 
tailor  named  Pasquino,  who  kept  a  shop  opposite  the  Orsini 
palace,  and  whose  sallies  against  the  Pope,  the  Cardinals, 
and  the  Court  were  widely  circulated  and  vastly  appreciated 
in  Rome.  Others  substitute  for  the  tailor  a  barber  gifted 
with  the  same  satirical  propensities.  We  owe  to  Count 
Domenico  Gnoli  the  revelation  of  the  truth.1 

On  April  25  of  each  year,  being  the  feast  day  of  St. 
\Mark  the  Evangelist,  a  procession  used  to  start  from  the 

1  Gnoli,  Domenico,  "  Le  origini  di  Maestro  Pasquino"  in  Nuova  Anlologia, 
January,  1890. 


48       THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM. 


church  of  S.  Lorenzo  in  Damaso  and  pass  in  front  of  the 
Pasquino  and  the  Orsini  palace,  where  the  officiating  priests 
rested  on  a  certain  stone  bench,  decked  for  the  occasion 
with  tapestries  and  evergreens.  Cardinal  Caraffa,  consid- 
ering that  Pasquino  was  not  fit  to  witness  such  a  holy  scene 
in  his  battered  condition,  caused  him  to  be  restored  in  plaster 
and  dressed  up  for  the  occasion,  the  type  and  the  costume 

changing    every    year. 

,  ^^,  '     .niiif<aiir~]     Thus  between  1501  and 

1507  he  became  in  turn 
Saturn,  Jupiter,  Miner- 
va, Apollo,  Mars,  Mer- 
cury, and  Neptune ;  he 
became  Arpokras  in 
1508,  Janus  in  1509, 
Hercules  in  1510, 
"Mourning"  in  1511, 
and  so  on.  The  dis- 
guises were  chosen  in 
connection  with  the 
greatest  or  latest  event 
of  the  year ;  for  in- 
stance, "  Mourning  " 
in  1511,  on  account 
of  Cardinal  Caraffa's 
death ;  Hercules  killing 
the  Hydra  in  1510,  on 
account  of  Julius  II.'s  victories  over  the  Venetians,  etc. 

The  care  of  arranging  Pasquino's  disguises  was  entrusted 
by  Cardinal  Caraffa  to  a  certain  Donate  Poli,  a  lecturer  on 
geography  in  the  university  or  "  studio,"  as  it  was  then 
called ;  a  man  deformed  in  appearance,  surnamed  by  his 
pupils  "  Diciamo,  diciamo"  (Let  us  say,  let  us  say),  because 


Pasquino. 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM.       49 

he  repeated  these  words  with  every  utterance ;  but  other- 
wise a  good  and  serviceable  friend,  with  longing  aspirations 
for  the  heights  of  Parnassus.  Donato  took  advantage  of 

<-'  O 

the  festival  of  St.  Mark  to  promote  emulation  among  his 
pupils,  causing  them  to  compose  Latin  or  Italian  elegies, 
epigrams,  and  mottoes  which  were  pasted  on  Pasquino's 


The  Fountain  of  the  Comitium. 

pedestal.  The  custom  met  with  such  favor,  first  with  the 
students,  later  on  with  the  many  poets  of  the  court  of  Leo 
X.,  that  the  number  of  verses  rose  from  a  few  scores  in 
1501  to  three  thousand  in  1509.  Jacopo  Mazochio,  the 
enterprising  manager  of  the  university  press,  at  once  saw 
his  chance  of  making  a  profit  out  of  this  competition  ;  but, 
as  the  show  lasted  only  a  few  hours,  because  the  papers 
were  removed  as  soon  as  the  procession  had  passed,  and  as 


50       THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM. 

many  fought  for  the  privilege  of  reading  and  copying  the 
epigrams,  Mazochio's  reporters  had  a  difficult  time  in  ac- 
complishing their  task.  His  pamphlets,  published  year  by 
year  under  the  title,  "  Carmina  quae  ad  Pasquillum  f  uerunt 
posita  in  anno  — ,"  have  become  exceedingly  rare,  only  the 
editions  of  1509-1514,  1521,  and  1525  having  come  down 
to  us.  The  others  were  probably  lost  in  the  Sacco  di 
Roma. 

A  perusal  of  these  pasquinades  show  them  to  be  mostly 
the  work  of  inexperienced  and  silly  boys ;  they  never  deal 
with  politics  or  religion.  Those,  therefore,  who  have  spoken 
of  Pasquino  as  waging  a  fierce  war  against  the  Popes,  as 
being  imbued  with  a  spirit  of  rebellion  and  reform,  and 
thrusting  the  darts  of  satire  against  the  members  of  the 
Curia,  are  altogether  mistaken.  The  only  strokes  of  license 
to  be  noticed  in  these  early  pasquinades  are  directed  against 
professors  of  the  university  obnoxious  to  students,  such  as 
Augusto  Baldo  from  Padua,  and  his  assistant  Basilio  Cal- 
condila,  who  occupied  the  chair  of  Greek.  The  celebrations 
were  interrupted  in  1517  by  the  sad  end  of  their  founder, 
Donato  Poli,  who  was  killed  with  a  hammer  by  his  own  valet 
for  the  sake  of  the  few  florins  he  had  saved  out  of  a  scanty 
salary  of  150  florins  a  year.  The  place  of  protector  of 
Pasquino  had  been  taken  by  Cardinal  Antonio  del  Monte 
after  the  death  of  Caraffa,  and  the  directorship  of  the  com- 
petition was  given  to  Decio  Sillano  da  Spoleto  after  the 
murder  of  Donato.  The  institution  collapsed  altogether 
with  the  Sacco  di  Roma.  As  long  as  Pasquino  was  left  free 
to  speak,  no  harm  was  done ;  but  when  the  reaction  against 
the  reform  broke  out  under  Adrian  VI.  and  Paul  IV.,  Pas- 
quino became  in  some  measure  the  anonymous  organ  of 
public  opinion,  and  part  of  the  social  system  of  Rome.  It 
is  related  that  Adrian  VI.  attempted  to  stop  his  career  by 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM,       51 

ordering  the  statue  to  be  burnt  and  thrown  into  the  Tiber, 
but  one  of  the  courtiers,  Ludovico  Suessano,  saved  him  by 
suggesting  that  his  ashes  would  turn  into  frogs  and  croak 
more  audaciously  than  ever. 

Pasquino  was  not  the  only  statue  patronizing  poetry  in 
Rome.  There  was  another  one  quite  celebrated  at  the 
time,  now  almost  lost  in  oblivion,  the  Sant'  Anna  of  Jacopo 
Sansovino,  classed  by  Vasari  amongst  the  masterpieces  of 
Italian  art.  The  statue,  which  stands  now  in  the  church 
of  S.  Agostino,  on  the  second  altar  at  the  left,  had  been 
originally  set  up  against  the  third  pilaster  of  the  nave  on 
the  same  side  of  the  church,  below  Raphael's  fresco  repre- 
senting the  prophet  Isaiah  and  two  angels  holding  a  tablet. 
Both  painting  and  statue  had  been  made  at  the  expense  of 
Johann  Goritz  of  Luxembourg,  the  Coricius  of  contem- 
porary humanists,  whose  garden,  on  the  slope  of  the  Capito- 
line  hill  towards  Trajan's  forum,  planted  with  lemon-trees 
and  full  of  antiques,  was  the  rendezvous  of  the  learned  men 
of  the  age.  Every  year,  on  the  feast  day  of  Sant'  Anna, 
Coricius's  friends  would  place  by  the  statue  in  S.  Agostino, 
or  hang  to  the  lemon-trees  of  the  garden,  odes  and  sonnets 
in  praise  of  their  kind  host,  which  he  collected  and  brought 
home  for  remembrance.  In  the  tenth  year  after  the  first 
keeping  of  Sant'  Anna's  day,  the  bundle  of  MSS.  was  stolen 
by  Blosio  Palladio,  while  Coricius  was  asleep,  and  printed  as 
a  surprise  to  him  (1524)  under  the  title  of  "  Coryciana."  It 
contains  contributions  from  one  hundred  and  thirty  poets ; 
among  the  names  I  notice  that  of  Ulrich  von  Hutten,  the 
author  of  the  incendiary  epigrams  to  Rubiano  on  the  state 
of  Papal  Rome,  who  afterwards  became  one  of  the  leaders 
of  the  Reformation  in  Germany. 

Poor  old  Coricius  !  His  end  was  nearly  as  cruel  as  that 
of  Donate  Poli.  During  the  fearful  sack  of  1527  he  saw 


52       THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  FORUM. 

his  house  and  his  dear  garden  wrecked  by  the  lansquenets, 
and  his  money  stolen,  while  he  was  nearly  beaten  to  death. 
Fleeing  from  the  accursed  city  towards  his  native  land,  he 
died  at  Mantua  from  grief  and  exhaustion. 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE    NEW    DISCOVERIES    ON    THE    SACRA    VIA. 

THE  religion  of  the  builders  of  Rome  did  not  differ  from 

O 

that  of  other  superior  races  at  an  early  stage  of  civilization. 
They  worshipped  nature  in  its  manifold  manifestations,  and 
paid  homage  to  the  beings  supposed  to  preside  over  the 
necessities  of  life,  to  those  who  made  the  spring  of  Juturna 
flow  from  the  rocks  upon  which  their  village  was  perched, 
who  kept  away  the  wolves  from  their  flocks  grazing  on  the 
uplands  of  the  Velia  and  the  Oppian,  who  supplied  their 
hearthstones  with  fire,  protected  their  ancestral  fields  from 
the  encroachments  of  neighbors,  and  their  family  tombs 
from  profanation,  and  who  guaranteed  the  sanctity  of 
agreements,  oaths,  matrimony,  and  hospitality.  It  was  only 
at  a  later  stage  that  the  Romans  borrowed  new  rites  and 
superstitions  from  the  Sabines,  the  Etruscans,  the  Greeks, 
the  Egyptians,  the  Phrygians,  and  the  Persians,  —  in  fact, 
from  every  nation  they  came  in  contact  with,  or  subju- 
gated to  their  rule.  The  outcome  of  this  process  of  assimi- 
lation was  a  complicated  religious  syncretism,  which  had 
no  nationality  or  individuality  of  its  own.  Such  has  been 
the  evolution  of  all  conquering  nations  ;  in  fact,  the  loss 
of  the  original  simplicity  of  faith  seems  to  have  been  shared 
by  all  races  which  have  not  kept  themselves  strictly  apart 
from  the  rest  of  mankind,  or  "  walled  themselves  in  "  like 
the  sons  of  Sem  in  the  far  East. 

The  latest  excavations  along  the  "  sacred  way  "  of  primi- 
tive Rome  have  brought  us  in  contact  over  and  over  again 


54     THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES   ON  THE   SACRA    VIA. 

with  the  centre  of  early  Roman  worship,  when  man  lived 
in  harmony  with  nature,  when  every  natural  mystery  was 
to  him  a  sacred  one.  In  those  early  days,  whenever  the 
intervention  of  the  Deity  was  sought  for  in  domestic  emer- 
gencies, the  duty  of  performing  the  supplication  rested, 
naturally,  with  the  paterfamilias;  but  when  prayers  and 
sacrifices  had  to  be  offered  for  the  sake  of  the  whole  village, 

O     ' 

or  tribe,  or  nation,  the  duty  devolved  upon  a  public  delegate 
or  representative.  The  Latin  tribes  called  to  those  high  and 
noble  duties  men  who  in  their  estimation  ranked  above 
others,  —  the  "  makers  of  roads  and  bridges,"  or,  in  short, 
the  "  pontifices."  Many  etymologies  have  been  suggested 
for  this  word.  Quintus  Scsevola  derived  it  from  "  posse  " 
and  "  facere  "  ;  Varro  from  "  pons  "  or  bridge,  because  the 
priests  had  thrown  across  the  Tiber  the  first  Roman  bridge, 
the  Sublician.  Others  have  suggested  that  "  pontifex  "  is 
a  substitute  for  "  pompifex,"  a  leader  of  public  processions. 
However,  as  the  word  "  pons  "  originally  meant  "  way,"  so 
the  word  "  ponti-fex  "  must  mean  a  "  maker  of  roads  and 
bridges."  These  men  were  certainly  possessed  of  a  great 
geodetical  knowledge  and  engineering  skill.  The  "  Terra- 
mara,"  or  prehistoric  fortified  station  discovered  by  Pigorini 
at  Castellazzo  di  Fontanellato,  of  which  I  have  given  an 
illustration  in  "  Ruins  and  Excavations  of  Ancient  Rome," 
p.  115,  is  a  marvel  and  model  of  ingenuity,  both  in  design 
and  in  execution. 

The  dignity  of  supreme  priesthood  belonged  to  the  king, 
who,  as  the  head  of  the  state  religion,  performed  his  official 
duties  in  a  hut  on  the  Sacra  Via,  near  the  place  where  the 
public  fire  was  kept,  and  watched  by  the  Vestals.  Vesta's 
hut  was  round.  The  "  Regia,"  as  the  High  Priest's  offices 
were  called,  seems  to  have  been  in  the  shape  of  an  oblong 
square  or  parallelogram.  Its  first  construction  is  attri- 


PLAN   OF  THE    HOUSE   OF  THE   VE 
(Built  over  the  Domus  Publica  of  the  time  of  August 


\LS,   TIME   OF  SEPTIMIUS   SEVERUS 

From  an  aerial  photograph  by  Captain  Moris,  R.  E.) 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  ON  THE  SACRA    VIA.     55 

buted  to  Numa,  and  it  probably  retained  its  original  shape 
and  simplicity  of  style  until  its  destruction  by  the  Gauls  in 
B.  c.  390. 

After  the  overthrow  of  the  monarchy,  and  the  consequent 
separation  of  the  political  from  the  religious  power,  the 
Regia  was  used  as  the  office  of  the  supreme  priesthood,  not 
as  a  dwelling-house  for  the  Supreme  Priest.  The  Regia  was 
a  "  fanum,"  viz.,  the  habitation  of  gods,  not  of  mortals  ; 
and  we  know  besides,  from  other  sources,  that  the  Pontifex 
dwelt  in  a  separate  house  on  the  same  Sacra  Via,  called  the 
"  domus  publica."  We  know,  also,  that  when  Augustus, 
after  an  interval  of  four  hundred  and  eighty-eight  years, 
united  again  in  his  own  person  the  political  and  the  reli- 
gious power,  as  in  the  days  of  the  Kings,  and  became  Pon- 
tifex Maximus,  he  built  a  new  "  domus  publica  "  on  the 
Palatine  and  made  a  present  to  the  Vestals  of  the  old  one. 
Its  remains  are  to  be  seen  to  the  present  day,  below  the 
level  of  the  house  of  the  same  virgins,  with  which  they  form 
an  angle  of  about  30°.  They  include  a  small  basilica  with 
a  fine  mosaic  pavement,  a  court  surrounded  by  a  peristyle  of 
fluted  stone  columns  coated  with  plaster,  a  "  triclinium  " 
or  dining  hall,  and  other  apartments  in  which  every  style 
of  masonry  used  in  Rome  from  the  Gaulish  fire  to  the  end 
of  the  Republic  is  represented.  The  plan  of  this  pontifi- 
cal residence,  the  witness  of  so  many  historical  events,  can 
be  made  out  —  as  far  as  the  present  stage  of  the  excava- 
tions allows  it  —  in  the  aerial  view  here  reproduced.  This 
photograph  was  taken  bv  that  gallant  officer  of  the  Royal 
Engineers,  Cavaliere  Moris,  whose  name  I  shall  have  occa- 
sion to  mention  again  with  praise  and  gratitude  in  the 
following  pages. 

As  regards  the  Regia,  it  survived  the  disastrous  fires  of 
210,  148,  and  36  B.  c.  and  65  A.  D.,  down  to  the  fall  of  the 


56     THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES   ON  THE  SACRA    VIA. 

Empire,  a  lovely  marble  building  sheltering  within  its  en- 
closure or  under  its  marble  and  mosaic  pavements  many 
characteristics  of  the  time  of  the  Kings.  Its  plan,  here 
given  for  the  first  time,  is  difficult  to  understand  in  some 
parts,  altogether  incomprehensible  in  others ;  but  our  in- 
vestigation of  the  place  may  be  found  easier  if  we  recall 
to  mind  the  manifold  duties  devolving  on  the  college  of 
the  pontiffs,  whose  official  residence  it  was.  They  were 
entrusted  with  the  care  of  regulating  the  worship  of  the 
people,  of  watching  over  the  maintenance  of  the  public  fire, 
of  keeping  records  of  time,  of  registering  great  events 
and  prodigies,  and  of  making  seismic  and  meteorological 
observations. 

As  far  as  the  religious  Code  is  concerned,  it  is  enough  to 
say  that  it  comprised  two  sections.  One  called  the  "  Indi- 
gitamenta  "  contained  the  authorized  names  of  the  gods 
and  explained  the  manner  in  which  they  were  to  be  ad- 
dressed in  public  worship  ;  the  other  contained  ritual  regu- 
lations and  the  "  jus  pontificum."  These  fundamental 
points  of  Roman  religion,  set  down  by  Numa  Pompilius, 
were  altered  or  more  accurately  defined  in  progress  of  time ; 
hence  the  origin  of  the  official  bulletin  of  the  supreme 
priesthood,  called  "  Commentarii  sacrorum,"  intended  to 
bring  to  the  notice  of  the  public  the  new  regulations,  with 
an  explanatory  text. 

The  pontiffs,  as  I  have  said,  watched  over  the  maintenance 
of  the  public  fire,  and  this  with  the  help  of  the  six  Vestal 
maidens,  whose  life  and  sacred  ministry  I  have  illustrated 
at  length  in  "  Ancient  Rome."  If  I  mention  here  again  the 
institution  common  to  all  tribal  settlements  of  prehistoric 
ages,  it  depends  on  the  fact  that  the  Vestals  did  not  repre- 
sent an  independent  sisterhood,  but  they  simply  performed 
duties  which  originally  pertained  to  the  pontifex.  In  fact, 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES   ON  THE  SACRA    VIA.     57 

the  Regia  was  for  our  primitive  Latin  settlements  (Bovillae, 
Velitrae,  Lanuvium,  Tusculum,  etc.)  what  the  Prytaneum 
was  in  the  Greek  lands,  when  each  tribal  nucleus  had  a 


Plan  of  the  Regia  of  the  time  of  the  Flavians,  built  over  the 
old  foundations  of  the  time  of  the  Kings. 

common  hearth  in  the  chief's  house.  Any  book  on  the 
folk-lore  and  customs  of  primitive  nations  will  show  the 
universality  of  this  practice.  The  perpetual  maintenance 
of  the  fire  was  the  duty  of  the  chief,  which  he  delegated 
to  his  daughters  or  to  his  slaves  ;  in  Latium,  no  doubt,  to 
daughters,  who  reappear  in  history  as  the  Vestals.  Hence 
the  connection  both  moral  and  material  between  the  two 
huts  raised  in  the  early  days  of  Rome  near  the  market 


58     THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES   ON  THE   SACRA    VIA. 

(Forum)  and  the  village  fountain  (Juturna),  which  were 
destined  to  become  in  progress  of  time,  one  the  Regia,  the 
other  the  temple  of  Vesta. 

The  new  search  made  through  the  cloisters  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1899  has  led  to  no  important  results.  These  clois- 
ters—  at  least  the  wing  which  borders  on  the  Nova  Via 
and  supports  its  embankment,  twenty-two  feet  high  —  were 
not  a  healthy  residence.  Their  position  right  under  the 
shade  of  Caligula's  palace,  towering  one  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  above  the  floor  of  the  Atrium,  was  most  unfavorable, 
and  the  rooms  of  the  ground  floor  were  so  permeated  with 
damp  as  to  be  unfit  for  human  habitation.  To  avoid  the 
evil,  or  rather  to  lessen  its  effects  on  the  health  of  the  sis- 
ters, two  precautions  were  taken.  Double  and  triple  walls 
were  set  up  against  the  embankment  of  the  Nova  Via,  with 
a  free  space  between  them  to  allow  the  circulation  of  dry 
or  hot  air ;  and  the  pavements  of  the  cells  were  raised  by 
a  couple  of  feet.  This  last  operation  was  carried  on  rather 
awkwardly,  and  in  a  way  quite  characteristic  of  the  deca- 
dence of  sanitary  engineering  in  Rome,  in  the  course  of  the 
fourth  century.  Thus,  in  the  rooms  on  either  side  of  the 
Tablinum  we  find  the  later  and  higher  pavements  resting 
on  large  earthen  amphorae,  sawn  across  into  halves  ;  others 
rest  on  brick  supports,  like  those  used  in  forming  hypo- 
causts ;  others  on  a  simple  bed  of  rubbish.  The  most  re- 
markable fact  is  that,  when  this  general  raising  of  the  floors 
took  place,  the  beautiful  old  pavements  of  the  time  of  Julia 
Domna  were  not  taken  up  and  made  use  of  again,  but  left, 
in  a  more  or  less  perfect  state,  at  the  old  level.  Two  or 
three  have  just  been  rediscovered,  and  they  are  most  beau- 
tiful; their  pattern  is  geometrical,  and  the  marbles  with 
which  they  are  inlaid  (giallo  and  pavonazzetto  for  the 
brighter  tones,  af ricano  and  portasanta  for  the  shady  effects) 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES   ON  THE  SACRA    VIA.     61 

harmonize  so  perfectly  in  color  and  shape  as  to  please  the 
eye  exceedingly. 

On  December  17,  1899,  a  "  ripostiglio,"  or  hidden  trea- 
sure of  gold  pieces  was  discovered  in  a  drain  near  the  west 
corner  of  the  edifice.  It  consists  of  397  aurei,  which  must 
have  been  thrown  into  that  strange  place  of  concealment 
in  a  leather  bag,  or  done  up  in  a  piece  of  cloth.  The  oldest 
coin  dates  from  the  time  of  Constantius  II.,  337-361  A.  D.  ; 
the  latest  from  that  of  Leo  I.,  whose  death  took  place  in 
474.  By  far  the  greatest  number  of  pieces,  three  hundred 
and  more,  belong  to  the  Emperor  Anthemius,  son  of  Pro- 
copius,  slain  by  his  son-in-law  Ricimer  in  467,  while  the 
rarest  of  all  bear  the  name  and  effigy  of  ^Elia  Marcia 
Euphemia,  daughter  of  the  Emperor  Marcianus  and  wife  of 
Anthemius. 

It  is  difficult  to  connect  the  burial  of  this  considerable 
sum  of  money  with  any  particular  event  in  the  history  of  the 
disasters  which  befell  the  city  at  the  end  of  the  fifth  cen- 
tury. There  is  no  doubt  that  the  gold  was  thrown  into  the 
cesspool  under  the  apprehension  of  an  impending  pillage. 
The  house  of  the  Vestals,  abandoned  by  the  sisterhood 
since  its  suppression  in  393,  wras  probably  falling  into  ruin, 
and  the  owner  of  that  little  treasure  selected  the  hiding- 
place  so  skilfully  that  not  only  did  it  escape  being  plun- 
dered by  the  barbarians,  but  the  owner  himself  could  not 
recover  it  after  the  danger  was  over.  Perhaps  he  lost  his 
life  in  the  defence  of  the  city  ;  perhaps  he  was  carried  away 
into  slavery  ;  perhaps  the  ceilings  of  this  suite  of  rooms 
fell  to  the  ground,  and  the  hiding-place  was  buried  under 
heavy  masses  of  masonry. 

The  397  aurei  or  solidi  were  found  to  weigh  1778 
grammes,  an  average  of  4o  grammes  apiece.  There  is, 
however,  considerable  variation  between  the  maximum 


62     THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES   ON  THE  SACRA   VIA. 

(4.515  gr.)  and  the  minimum  (4.250  gr.)  in  the  fifty-six 
varieties  of  coins.  Considering  that,  by  a  decree  issued  by 
Valentinian  in  445  A.  D.,  seventy-two  solidi  were  required 
to  make  a  pound,  we  assume,  from  the  most  careful  weigh- 
ing of  300  solidi  of  Anthemius  all  sharp  and  fresh  from  the 
mint,  that  the  exact  value  of  the  pound  in  the  first  half  of 
the  fifth  century  was  322.56  grammes. 

Another  quite  recent  discovery  has  stirred  up  once  more 
the  controversy  concerning  the  fate  of  the  Vestal  whose 
name  was  erased  from  the  pedestal  discovered  November  5, 
1883,  at  the  north  corner  of  the  cloisters,  on  the  right  of 
the  entrance  door,  a  detailed  account  of  which  is  given  in 
"  Ancient  Rome,"  p.  170.  The  inscription  describes  how 
a  statue  and  a  pedestal  had  been  raised  in  honor  of  .  .  .  , 
high  priestess,  by  the  college  of  the  pontiffs,  as  a  testimonial 
to  her  chastity  and  profound  knowledge  of  religious  mat- 
ters. Why  was  the  memory  of  such  a  chaste  and  learned 
lady  condemned,  after  the  statue  was  set  up  A.  D.  364,  and 
why  was  her  name  hammered  away  from  the  pedestal? 
Probably  because  she  became  a  Christian.  An  alleged  con- 
firmation of  this  surmise  has  been  found  in  the  discovery 
made  September  17,  1899,  of  a  mutilated  statue,  which 
seemed  to  have  been  purposely  buried  three  feet  below  the 
mosaic  floor  at  the  west  corner  of  the  Atrium,  as  if  the 
High  Priests,  not  satisfied  with  the  erasure  of  the  abhorred 
name  of  the  traitress,  had  overthrown  the  statue,  and  buried 
the  scattered  portions  in  various  corners  of  the  place.  The 
statement  is  absolutely  fanciful,  I  am  sorry  to  say  ;  the  bat- 
tered torso  of  the  Vestal  was  not  concealed  from  view  out 
of  disrespect  for  the  titular,  but  simply  made  use  of  by  a 
late  occupant  of  the  Atrium  to  repair  the  roof  of  a  local 
drain.  The  practice  of  using  the  finest  productions  of 
classic  sculpture  for  this  disreputable  purpose  was  rather 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES   ON  THE  SACRA    VIA.     63 

in  vogue  in  mediaeval  Rome.  The  exquisite  panel  from 
the  Basilica  ^Emilia,  reproduced  on  page  149,  was  discov- 
ered by  Boni  walled  in  the  ceiling  of  the  sewer  of  the 
street  ad  Janum.  When  Lorenzo  Ghiberti  visited  Rome  in 
1420,  a  beautiful  statue  was  discovered  in  his  presence  in 
the  drain  which  runs  by  the  church  of  S.  Celso  in  Banchi. 
"  I  saw  in  the  440th  Olympiad,"  Ghiberti  writes  in  Cod. 
Magliabecch.  XVII.  n.  33,  "  a  simulacrum  of  an  hermaphro- 
dite of  the  stature  of  a  girl  of  thirteen,  modelled  with  won- 
derful grace,  which  had  been  placed  across  the  drain  of  S. 
Celso,  to  strengthen  its  ceiling.  A  sculptor  who  happened 
to  witness  the  find,  caused  the  statue  to  be  raised  from  its 
disgraceful  grave,  and  removed  to  the  church  of  S.  Cecilia, 
where  he  was  putting  up  the  tomb  of  a  cardinal."  My 
own  experience  in  this  line  of  discoveries  has  been  remark- 
ably interesting.  The  frieze  attributed  by  Visconti  to  the 
temple  of  the  Earth  with  scenes  from  the  Gigantomachia  ; 
the  trapezophoroi  from  the  house  of  Numicius  Pica  Caesi- 
anus  on  the  Viminal,  monuments  of  great  artistic  and  ar- 
chaeological value  described  in  the  "  Bullettino  Comunale," 
1874,  p.  223,  and  1887,  p.  247,  and  the  greater  part  of 
the  panels  exhibited  in  the  Sala  delle  Terre-cotte  in  the 
Conservatori  Palace,  have  experienced  the  same  fate  with 
the  statues  of  the  Hermaphrodite  of  Ghiberti,  and  of  the 
Vestal  Virgin  lately  found  in  the  Atrium. 

Prudentius,  the  prince  of  Christian  poets,  seems  to  allude 
to  the  fate  of  this  last  priestess  in  his  canticle  to  St.  Law- 
rence, when  he  says,  "  ^Edemque,  Laurenti,  tuam  Vestalis 
intrat  Claudia "  (Claudia  the  Vestal  Virgin  enters  thy 
shrine).  These  words  are  interpreted  by  Marucchi,  not  as 

1  Probably  of  Cardinal  Adam  of  Hertford,  who  died  1397.  The  tomb,  a 
true  gem  of  the  early  Renaissance,  was  pulled  to  pieces  by  Cardinal  Sfrondato 
in  1599. 


64     THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES   ON  THE  SACRA    VIA. 

a  general  and  impersonal  indication  of  the  conquests  made 
by  the  gospel  among  the  last  champions  of  polytheism,  but 
as  the  proof  of  a  special  conquest,  made  in  the  Atrium 
itself,  of  a  distinguished  priestess  named  Claudia ; 1  in 
which  case  the  mention  of  the  Basilica  of  S.  Lorenzo  fuori 
le  Mura  cannot  be  taken  as  fortuitous,  but  as  the  evidence 
of  a  true  and  real  event  connected  with  the  history  of  that 
celebrated  sanctuary.  The  tomb  of  the  Levite  on  the  Via 
Tiburtina  had  been  chosen  in  the  fourth  century  as  the 
place  where  young  men  and  young  women  would  conse- 
crate themselves  to  God,  and  pronounce  the  vows  of  chas- 
tity. These  scenes  are  represented  on  certain  devotional 
medals,  two  of  which  are  here  reproduced. 

The  first,  discovered  in  1636  in  the  Catacombs  of  Cyriaca 
together  with  a  glass  cup  upon  which  the  heads  of  St.  Peter 
and  St.  Paul  were  designed  in  gold  leaf,  was  purchased  by 
Claude  Menetrier,  and  offered  to  Cardinal  Francesco  Bar- 
beririi.  A  bad  mould  of  the  lost  original  is  exhibited  in  the 
Vatican  Library.  It  represents  the  consecration  to  God,  on 
the  grave  of  St.  Lawrence,  of  a  girl  named  SVCCESSA.  The 
second,  the  origin  of  which  is  not  recorded,  represents  sym- 
bolically the  sacrifice  of  Abraham,  practically  the  offer  made 
to  God  by  UBBICVS  of  his  son  GAVDENTIANVS,  the  conse- 
cration taking  place,  as  usual,  at  the  grave  of  the  Levite. 

These  scenes  help  us  to  understand  the  meaning  of  the 
verses  of  Prudentius ;  in  which  he  does  not  indulge  in  poet- 
ical allusions,  but  mentions  an  historical  fact,  viz.,  the 
abjuration  of  the  Vestal  Claudia  in  the  Basilica  of  St. 
Lawrence,  and  the  iteration  of  her  vows  of  chastity  not  to 
Vesta  but  to  the  true  God. 

The  Catacombs  of  Cyriaca,  in  the  heart  of  which  St. 
Lawrence  was  buried,  contain  many  authentic  documents  of 

1  Marucchi  in  Nuovo  Bullettino  di  arch,  cristiana,  1899,  p.  206. 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  ON  THE  SACS  A    VIA.     fi5 


these  "  Gottgeweihten  Jungfrauen,"  *  such  as  the  tomb- 
stones of  Lavinia,  VIRGO  DEI  INIMITABILIS,  who  died  April 
3,  409,  in  her  thirty-fifth  year ;  of  Praetextata,  VIRGO  SACRA, 
who  died  August  6,  464 ;  of  Adeodata,  VIRGO  DIGNA  ET 
MERITA,  "  who  lies  here  in  peace  by  the  will  of  her  heav- 
enly Spouse,"  and  others.  This  is  the  reason  why  one  of 
the  most  favorite  subjects  for  symbolic  paintings  in  these 


Medals  of  devotion  of  the  sixth  century,  commemorative  of  the 
consecration  to  God  of  boys  and  girls,  and  of  their  vows  of  chas- 
tity pronounced  at  the  grave  of  St.  Lawrence. 

special  catacombs  of  Cyriaca  is  the  parable  of  the  wise  and 
foolish  virgins.     Now  we  cannot  ascribe  to  a  mere  chance 

1  Monsignor  Giuseppe  Wilpert,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  Roman  school  of 
sacred  archfeology,  has  adopted  this  title  for  his  learned  treatise  on  Christian 
Virgins  published  at  Freiburg  in  1892. 


66     THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES   ON  THE  SACRA   VIA. 

the  finding,  in  these  same  crypts,  of  an  epitaph  inscribed 

with  the  following  verses  :  — 

» 

"  Claudia  nobilium  prolis  generosa  parentum 
Hie  iacet  :  hinc  anima  in  carne  redeunte  resurget 
^Eternis  Christi  niunere  digna  bonis." 

(Here  lies  Claudia,  daughter  of  noble  parents,  waiting  for 
the  day  of  the  Resurrection,  to  receive  from  Christ  the  gift 
of  perpetual  happiness.)  The  Claudia  of  patrician  birth, 
buried  among  the  virgins  of  God  near  the  grave  of  St. 
Lawrence,  is  manifestly  the  same  noble  girl  whose  secession 
from  the  altar  of  Vesta  is  recorded  by  Prudentius,  and 
whose  name  is  erased  from  the  pedestal.  By  a  fortunate 
coincidence  the  first  letter  of  the  name  erased  can  still  be 
made  out,  and  it  is  a  C,  the  initial  of  Claudia. 

I  have  said  that  records  of  tune,  of  important  events,  and 
of  prodigies  were  kept  in  the  Regia.  Time  was  recorded 
by  means  of  the  "  Fasti  consulares,"  events  by  means  of 
the  "  Fasti  triumphales  "  and  of  the  "  Annales  maximi," 
while  prodigies  were  registered  by  means  of  minutes  com- 
piled by  the  inquiring  officers. 

For  nearly  four  centuries  and  a  half  after  the  foundation 
of  Rome  the  knowledge  of  the  calendar  was  possessed  exclu- 
sively by  the  priests.  One  of  them,  the  Rex  sacrorum,  on 
the  calends  of  each  month  announced  to  the  people  assem- 
bled in  the  Curia  Calabra,  when  the  nones  of  that  month 
would  fall  (on  the  5th,  except  in  March,  May,  July,  and 
October,  when  they  fell  on  the  7th) ;  and  on  the  nones 
the  people  were  again  gathered  in  the  Arx  to  be  told  what 
feast-days  fell  in  the  remaining  part  of  the  month.  In  like 
manner,  all  who  wished  to  go  to  law  were  obliged  to  in- 
quire of  the  priests  on  what  day  they  might  bring  their  suit, 
and  received  the  reply  as  from  the  lips  of  an  astrologer. 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES   ON  THE   SACRA    VIA.     67 

The  whole  of  this  lore,  so  long  a  source  of  power  and  profit 
and  therefore  jealously  enveloped  in  mystery,  was  at  length 
made  public  by  a  certain  Cn.  Flavius,  scribe  to  Appius  Clau- 
dius CaBcus,  who,  having  gained  access  to  the  pontifical 


The  Regia,  from  the  Sacra  Via. 

books,  copied  out  all  the  requisite  information,  and  exhib- 
ited it  in  the  Forum  for  the  use  of  people  at  large,  From 
this  time  forward  such  tables  became  common,  and  were 
known  by  the  name  of  "  Fasti,"  '  closely  resembling  a 
modern  almanac. 

Many  of  these  Fasti  have  been  found,  in  a  more  or  less 
fragmentary  state,  in  my  lifetime,  the  most  important  rep- 
lica being  the  one  discovered  at  Caere  in  1873  by  Luigi 
Boccanera,  the  only  one  in  which  mention  is  made  of  the 
birthday  of  Rome  (April  21)  : 


ROMA 
FERuc  •  CORONATIS  •  OUnibus 

1  William  Ridgeway,  in  Smith's  Diet,  of  Antiq.  vol.  i.  p.  828. 


68     THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES   ON  THE   SACRA    VIA. 

More  complete  are  the  copies  found  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, when  ancient  monuments  had  not  yet  suffered  irre- 
parable injury  at  the  hands  of  modern  vandals.  They  are 
known  by  the  name  of  Fasti  Pinciani,  Venusini,  Maffeiani, 
Esquilini,  Preenestini,  etc.,  from  the  place  in  which  they 
came  to  light,  or  to  which  they  were  removed.  The  calen- 
dars are  properly  called  Julian,  because  they  are  later  than 
the  great  reform  of  the  year  made  by  Julius  Ca3sar  B.  c.  46, 
and  were  destined  to  make  the  people  of  Rome  and  of  the 
surrounding  towns  acquainted  with  the  new  computation. 
We  owe  to  the  same  circumstance  the  composition  of  the 
celebrated  Fasti  of  Ovid,  a  poetical  "  year-book  "  or  "  com- 
panion to  the  almanac  "  published  to  illustrate  the  reform 
of  the  dictator.  Ovid's  work,  however,  is  incomplete,  and 
deals  only  with  the  first  six  months  of  the  year. 

From  these  various  elements  Professor  Mommsen  was  able 
to  reconstruct  in  1863  the  complete  set  of  the  "  Commen- 
tarii  diurni,"  giving  every  possible  detail  for  each  day  of 
the  year,  one  of  the  greatest  epigraphic  and  archaeological 
achievements  of  the  age.1 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  original  copy  of  the  re- 
formed calendar  must  have  been  engraved  on  the  walls  of 
the  Regia,  the  official  residence  of  the  reformer ;  and  yet 
while  we  are  in  possession  of  a  considerable  part  of  the 
Fasti  exhibited  in  the  same  place,  not  a  fragment  has  been 
found  of  the  calendar. 

These  Fasti  were  discovered  in  1546,  during  the  memo- 
rable campaign  of  destruction  initiated  by  Paul  III.  in  1540 
to  provide  materials  for  the  "  Fabbrica  di  S.  Pietro."  The 
remains  .of  the  building1  were  first  seen  at  the  bottom  of  the 

O 

trench  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  August ;  a  month  later  not  a 

1  Corpus  Inscr.  Lot.  vol.  i.  pp.  382-410.     Second  edition  by  Mommsen  and 
Huelsen,  1893. 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES   ON  THE  SACRA    VIA.     69 

vestige  was  left  to  tell  the  tale.  Panvinio  and  Ligorio,  both 
witnesses  of  the  proceedings,  say  that  the  beautiful  building 
was  so  far  intact  at  the  moment  of  the  discovery  that  a 
whole  column  or  page  of  the  Fasti,  engraved  in  the  space 
or  panel  between  two  pilasters,  was  still  in  situ  ("  loco  an- 
tiquo  mota  non  fuerat "),  so  that  Michelangelo  and  Ligorio 
himself  found  no  difficulty  in  designing  the  plan  and  the 
architectural  details  of  the  structure.  Other  inscribed  blocks 
having  been  found  out  of  place,  a  careful  search  was  made 
in  various  directions  by  means  of  tunnels  bored  in  the  bank 
of  rubbish.  Ligorio  adds  that  the  find  was  made  half  way 
between  the  arch  of  Fabius  and  the  temple  of  Castor. 
The  vandals  of  the  "  Reverenda  Fabbrica  "  did  not  even 
tarry  to  reach  the  ancient  level  to  indulge  in  their  destruc- 
tive errand,  but  sold  the  exquisitely  carved  blocks  to  lime- 
burners  and  stonecutters  as  fast  as  they  appeared  in  the 
trench.  Some  were  hammered  into  chips  and  thrown  into 
the  limekiln,  others  sawn  into  slabs  or  transformed  into  new 
shapes.  The  reader  may  form  an  estimate  of  the  irrepara- 
ble losses  inflicted  on  the  Regia  between  August  15  and 
September  14,  1546,  from  the  fact  that  the  few  architectu- 
ral fragments  reproduced  on  pages  70,  71  are  the  only 
ones,  as  far  as  I  know,  that  escaped  destruction  ;  and  yet  so 
indifferent  were  the  learned  men  of  the  age  to  the  fate  of 
the  glorious  ruins  of  Rome,  that  Panvinio  himself  ends  his 
account  of  these  sad  events  by  raising  a  canticle  of  praise 
to  Paul  III.  under  whose  "  felicissimus  principatus "  they 
had  taken  place. 

The  Fasti  consulares  et  triumphales  would  probably  have 
shared  the  same  fate  but  for  the  intervention  of  Cardinal 
Alessandro  Farnese,  who  rescued  them  from  the  hands  of 
the  contractors,  and  removed  them  to  his  own  garden  of 
La  Farnesina,  according  to  Metellus  —  to  his  palace,  accord- 


70     THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES   ON  THE  SACRA    VIA, 


Fragments  of  the  architecture  of  the  Regia. 

ing  to  Marliano.  Such  a  valuable  set  of  historical  records, 
however,  was  not  destined  to  remain  long  in  private  hands. 
Yielding  to  a  request  of  the  city  magistrates,  that  kind 
prince  of  the  church  made  a  present  of  the  set  to  his 
fellow-citizens,  and  the  Fasti  were  thus  removed  to  the 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES   ON  THE  SACRA   VIA.     71 

middle  north  room  of  the  Conservator!  Palace  on  the  Capi- 
tol, with  the  help  of  Michelangelo  for  the  architectural 
part,  while  the  epigraphical  was  entrusted  to  a  committee 
of  learned  men,  Antonio  Agostino,  Gabriele  Faerno,  Ottavio 
Pantagato,  Bartolomeo  Marliano,  and  Tommaso  Cavalieri, 
presided  over  by  Gentile  Delfini. 

We  cannot,  however,  take  the  word  of  Panvinio  and  Li- 
gorio  in  too  strict  a  sense,  as  if  the  builders  of  St.  Peter's 


Fragments  of  a  frieze,  probably  of  the  Repia. 

had  found  the  Regia  intact,  and  as  if  they  were  the  first  to 
lay  hands  on  the  sacred  edifice.  The  destructive  process 
had  been  inaugurated  long  before  the  time  of  Paul  III. 
A  fragment  of  the  Fasti  (from  A.  u.  386  to  396),  after 
having  served  as  threshold  for  the  church  of  S.  Maria  in 
Publicolis,  in  the  fifteenth  century,  had  been  saved  from 
destruction  by  the  sacristan,  and  set  into  the  wall  of  the 
adjoining  house  belonging  to  Prospero  di  Santa  Croce  ;  * 
another,  dated  A.  u.  766,  was  seen  by  Fra  Giocondo  da 
Verona  about  1485,  in  the  house  of  Antonio  dei  Rustici ;  a 
third,  dated  from  the  first  Punic  war,  was  copied  by  Mazo- 

1  Compare  Huelsen,  Corpus  Inscr.  Lot.  vol.  i.  second  ed.  1893,  p.  1. 


72     THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES   ON  THE  SACRA    VIA. 

chio  in  1511,  in  the  house  of  Francesco  de'  Fabii,  etc.  The 
present  excavations  of  the  Forum  have  supplied  us  with 
another  proof  that  marbles  were  removed  from  the  Regia, 
even  before  the  fire  and  pillage  of  Robert  the  Norman,  A.  D. 
1081,  when  the  Forum  was  still  free  from  all  accumulation 
of  rubbish.  In  clearing  away  a  section  of  the  Basilica 
^Emilia  which  had  been  occupied  by  a  public  office  (for  the 
collecting  of  taxes  ?)  about  the  time  of  Charlemagne,  a 
valuable  fragment  of  the  same  records  was  found,  used,  as 
in  the  case  of  S.  Maria  in  Publicolis,  for  a  threshold.  The 
block  of  marble,  which  must  have  originally  contained 
some  thirty  lines  of  consular  names,  has  been  so  mutilated 
by  the  chisel  of  the  stonecutter,  and  so  worn  away  by  the 
rubbing  of  feet,  that  only  the  names  of  the  "  tribuni  mili- 
tum  "  for  the  year  374,  and  of  the  consuls  for  the  years 
422-424,  can  be  read.  Yet  the  fragment,  mutilated  as  it 
is,  enables  us  to  correct  both  Livy  and  Diodorus  as  regards 
the  number  and  the  names  of  the  tribuni.  Diodorus,  xv. 
50,  mentions  only  seven,  Livy,  vi.  27,  only  six ;  the  newly 
found  fragment  from  the  Regia  mentions  nine,  with  names 
and  genealogy  in  full,  ending  with  the  record  that  towards 
the  end  of  that  year  Cincinnatus  was  appointed  dictator 
to  defend  the  City  from  the  attack  of  the  Prsenestinians. 
Record  is  also  made  of  the  dictatorship  of  Cnseus  Quintius 
Capitolinus  A.  u.  423,  "  clavi  figendi  causa."  This  very 
old  custom  of  driving  a  nail  into  the  right  side  of  the  cella 
of  Jupiter's  temple  on  the  Capitol,  on  September  13,  ori- 
ginated from  the  Etruscans,  who  used  to  keep  account  of 
the  years  in  this  primitive  fashion.  In  progress  of  time  the 
ceremony  was  performed  only  under  extraordinary  circum- 
stances, to  avert  the  spreading  of  the  plague,  to  expiate  a 
great  crime,  to  call  back  to  obedience  the  disaffected  ple- 
beians, and  the  like.  The  occasion  for  driving  the  nail 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES   ON  THE  SACRA    VIA.     73 

A.  u.  423  was  found  in  a  sudden  and  terrible  influx  of 
mortality  among  the  patrician  families.  Doubts  were  at  first 
entertained  as  to  whether  the  mortality  was  due  to  natural 
causes,  or  to  a  murderous  conspiracy.  The  theory  of  whole- 
sale poisoning  prevailed  as  usual  in  these  contingencies, 
and  one  hundred  and  seventy  matrons  of  noble  birth  were 
sentenced  to  death.  It  is  the  old  story  of  the  Untori,  so 
impressively  described  by  Manzoni  in  connection  with  the 
Plao-ue  of  Milan  of  1630.  This  valuable  fragment  of  the 

o  ~ 


Remains  of  a  mediaeval  building-  occupying1  part  of  the  Basilica  vEmilia.  where  an 
important  fragment  of  the  Fasti  has  Ijeen  found,  used  as  a  threshold  at  the  point 
marked  A. 

history  of  republican   Rome  was  discovered   at   the   point 
marked  A  in  the  preceding  illustration. 

To  return  to  the  excavations  of  1546,  we  learn  from 
Panvinio  another  curious  particular,  viz.,  that  the  Regia  had 
been  occupied  in  the  darkest  period  of  the  middle  ages  by 
a  double  colony  of  marble-cutters  and  limeburners,  both  of 


74     THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES   ON  THE  SACRA    VIA. 


The  entrance  to  the  Regia,  from  the  east. 

which  companies  had  left  traces  of  their  sinister  work. 
Panvinio  saw  a  limekiln  of  considerable  size,  with  a  layer  of 
half-charred  marble  blocks  at  the  bottom,  while  others  had 
been  spared  from  the  fire  to  be  sawn  in  slabs,  "  on  which 
were  carved  birds,  flowers,  Solomon's  knots,  and  other  bar- 
barous and  utterly  senseless  ornamentations  which  we  see  so 
often  carved  on  the  panels  of  pulpits  and  choirs  in  mediaeval 
churches."  Panvinio  obviously  refers  to  the  workshop  of 
a  Roman  "  marmorarius "  of  the  eighth  or  ninth  century, 
who,  for  the  sake  of  the  materia  prima,  had  established 
himself  amidst  the  marble  buildings  at  the  east  end  of  the 
Forum.  Giacomo  Boni  has  discovered  in  this  same  neigh- 
borhood a  block  showing,  on  one  side,  a  cross  of  the  Caro- 
lingian  age,  with  the  four  branches  bent  apart  in  the  form 
of  a  spiral,  and,  on  the  other,  exquisite  mouldings  of  the 
time  of  the  Flavians.1 

1  See  Boni's  article  in  the  Nineteenth  Century  for  April,  1900,  p.  637. 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES   ON  THE  SACRA    VIA.     75 

Notwithstanding  these  antecedents,  it  is  evident  that  if 
the  contractors  for  the  "  Fabbrica  di  S.  Pietro  "  had  not 
met  with  the  remains  of  the  Regia  in  their  ferocious  cam- 
paign of  1546,  we  should  now  behold  not  the  bare,  shapeless 
platform  shown  on  page  74,  but  a  tasteful  little  architec- 
tural jewel,  not  unlike  the  one  reproduced  in  the  accom- 
panying cut  from  a  sketch  by  Pirro  Ligorio,  who  claims  to 
have  made  it  while  the  building  was  being  pulled  to  pieces. 

Another  duty  which  devolved  on  the  College  of  the 
Pontiffs  was  to  inquire  into  the  prodigious  manifestations 
and  strange  incidents  by  which  the  gods  were  supposed  to 


The  Regia,  from  a  sketch  taken  in  1566,  by  Pirro  Ligorio. 

forewarn  men  of  impending  calamities ;  and  because  these 
calamities  were  believed  to  threaten  the  nation  more  than 
single  individuals,  the  Senate  also  took  a  share  in  the  in- 
quest and  in  the  selection  of  the  rites,  sacrifices  and  expia- 
tions best  calculated  to  appease  the  wrath  and  avert  the 


76     THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES   ON  THE  SACRA    VIA. 

vengeance  of  the  gods.  Livy's  chronicle  of  the  "  prodigia  " 
which  marked  the  advent  of  every  new  year  at  the  time 
of  the  Punic  wars  is  quite  extraordinary ;  but  we  must 
acknowledge,  in  justice  to  him,  that  he  does  not  rely  much 
on  the  trustworthiness  of  the  reports  which  he  had  collected 
from  the  pontifical  archives.  Speaking  of  the  wonderful 
manifestations  reported  for  the  year  214  B.  c.,  Livy  declares 
that  in  many  cases  they  were  the  outcome  of  excited  imagi- 
nations, ready  to  find  credit  among  the  lower  classes  terri- 
fied by  the  events  of  the  war.  The  prodigies  were  of  two 
kinds :  those  that  could  be  traced  back  to  natural  agencies 
acting  under  the  will  of  the  gods,  such  as  thunderbolts 
striking  gacred  edifices,  rivers  overflowing  their  banks,  fires, 
earthquakes,  hurricanes,  plague,  mortality  among  the  ani- 
mals, etc.,  and  those  essentially  supernatural  and  miraculous 
which  manifested  the  direct  will  of  the  gods. 

The  records  for  the  year  214  B.  c.,  the  fifth  of  the  sec- 
ond Punic  war,  include  the  following  entries.  In  Rome 
the  Tiber  twice  submerged  the  lower  quarters  and  the  sub- 
urbs, carrying  away  houses  and  farms  with  a  great  loss  of 
men  and  cattle.  The  vestibule  of  the  Capitol  and  the  tem- 
ple of  Vulcan  were  struck  by  lightning,  as  well  as  a  walnut- 
tree  in  the  Sabine  hills,  and  the  walls  and  one  of  the  gates 
at  Gabii.  In  Rome,  likewise,  a  shower  of  blood  fell  in  the 
Forum  Boarium ;  a  jet  of  water  burst  out  in  the  street  of 
the  Insteii  with  terrific  force ;  and  an  apparition  of  hostile 
legions  hurrying  to  storm  the  city  was  seen  on  the  Janicu- 
lum.  Ravens  had  built  their  nest  inside  the  temple  of  Juno 
Sospita  at  Lanuvium ;  the  pool  of  the  Mincio,  by  which 
Mantua  is  surrounded,  had  suddenly  taken  a  bloody  color ; 
a  shower  of  lapilli  had  fallen  at  Gales  ;  the  spear  of  Mars  in 
the  temple  at  Prseneste  had  been  seen  to  move ;  an  infant 
had  been  heard  to  cry  out  "  lo  triumphe  !  "  while  still  "  in 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES   ON  THE  SACRA    VIA.     77 

utero  matris";  women  had  been  turned  into  men  at  Spo- 
leto  ;  and  lastly,  celestial  figures,  clad  in  white  garments,  had 
been  seen  at  Hadria  among  the  clouds,  gathered  around  an 
altar ! 

There  is  a  fragmentary  treatise,  entitled  "  De  Prodigiis  " 
or  "  Prodigiorum  Libellus,"  containing  a  chronological  en- 
try of  these  strange  happenings  from  the  consulship  of  Scipio 
and  Lselius,  B.  c.  190,  to  that  of  Fabius  and  ^Elius,  B.  c.  11. 
The  book  —  which  bears  the  name,  otherwise  unknown, 
of  C.  Julius  Obsequens  —  is  simply  an  abridgment  of  Livy, 
almost  word  for  word,  made  by  an  anonymous  compiler  of 
the  fourth  century. 

One  set  of  prodigies,  the  oscillation  of  the  spears  of 
Mars,  is  strictly  connected  with  the  Regia.  The  formula 
with  which  the  phenomenon  was  registered  in  the  pontifi- 
cal diaries  is  always  the  same,  if  we  may  trust  those  that 
have  come  down  to  us,  either  directly  or  from  the  abridg- 


The  Regia.  from  the  west. 


78     THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES   ON  THE  SACRA    VIA. 

ment  of  Livy  :  "  hastae  Martis  motae  "  (B.  c.  184) ;  "  hastse 
Martis  in  Regia  motae  "  (B.  c.  119,  100,  97) ;  "  hastaa  Mar- 
tis in  Regia  sua  sponte  motae  "  (B.  c.  104).  These  spears 
—  wooden  rods  with  points  of  metal  —  were  venerated  in  a 
"  sacrarium "  or  inner  room  of  the  Regia,  as  having  be- 
longed to  the  mythical  father  of  the  first  king  and  founder 
of  Rome.  They  were  probably  two  in  number,  certainly 
more  than  one,  as  they  are  invariably  alluded  to  by  ancient 
writers  in  the  plural.  Giacomo  Boni  recognizes  the  inner- 
most sanctuary  of  Mars,  where  the  hastse  were  kept,  in  the 
circular  structure  represented  in  the  accompanying  view, 
(page  77),  but  whether  his  conjecture  is  acceptable  or  not, 
I  agree  with  him  on  one  point :  that  the  sacrarium  was  in  a 
certain  sense  a  seismic  observatory.  We  cannot  state  with 
certainty  how  the  spears  were  suspended  so  as  to  register 
the  smallest  oscillations ;  but  whatever  the  arrangement 
was,  we  know  that  their  vibration  was  considered  to  be 
the  forerunner  of  disaster,  to  be  averted  only  by  the  most 
solemn  sacrifices.  Aulus  Gellius  distinctly  affirms  that 
they  were  shaken  by  earthquakes;  and  the  fact  that  several 
propitiations  were  offered  in  succession  indicates  that  fresh 
shocks  were  always  expected  and  dreaded.  In  this  re- 
spect the  hastae  Martis  can  properly  be  compared  with  the 
"  ancilia  "  or  shields  kept  in  the  assembly  room  of  the  Salii 
on  the  Palatine,  which  were  likewise  believed  to  be  stirred 
occasionally  by  a  supernatural  power  when  a  special  expia- 
tory ceremony  was  required. 

As  the  official  residence  of  the  Pontifex  Maximus,  the 
Regia  was  the  home  of  Julius  Caesar  during  the  greater 
part  of  his  public  life.  He  did  not  actually  dwell  in 
it,  but  in  a  house  on  the  opposite  site  of  the  lane,  called 
Domus  Publica,  or  Domus  Pontificis,  or  Domus  C.  Caesaris. 
The  living  and  the  official  apartments  were,  however,  so 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES  ON  THE  SACRA    VIA.     79 

closely  connected  that  what  is  related  of  one  may  be  applied 
to  the  other.  Pliny  describes  the  spreading  of  awnings 
over  the  Sacra  Via  and  the  Forum  "  from  the  house  of 
Caesar  to  the  Capitol,"  on  the  occasion  of  a  gladiatorial 
show  which  he  offered  to  the  people.  "  Here  took  place 
the  scandalous  intrusion  of  Clodius  at  the  festival  of  the 
Bona  Dea,  which  induced  Caesar  to  divorce  his  wife  Pom- 
peia,  though  he  refused  to  bring  Clodius  to  law,  alleging 
as  his  reason  for  the  divorce  that  his  wife  must  be  above 
suspicion.  Cicero  in  a  letter  to  Attic  us  alludes  to  a  visit 
paid  by  the  latter  to  the  Regia,  when  after  the  battle  of 
Pharsalus  it  had  become  a  necessity  to  court  Caesar's  pardon 
or  protection."  Here  also  took  place  the  meetings  for  the 
Julian  reform  of  the  calendar,  from  which  point  of  view 
the  Regia  and  its  annex,  the  Domus  Publica,  bring  to 
mind  the  Casino  Sora  Boncompagni  at  Frascati,  where  a 
similar  operation  took  place  in  1582,  in  the  time  of  Pope 
Gregory  XIII.  From  the  same  house  Caesar  set  forth  on 
the  fatal  Ides  of  March,  B.  c.  44,  alarmed  by  the  ominous 
dreams  of  his  wife  Calpurnia  and  by  other  evil  presages ; 
and  hither  his  lifeless  body  was  brought  back  from  the 
lobby  of  Pompey's  theatre,  and  cremated,  as  the  historians 
say,  "  in  the  Forum,  where  the  Romans  place  their  ancient 
Regia." 

A  very  interesting  discovery  has  been  made  in  connection 
with  these  events.  We  knew  from  the  description  by  Sue- 
tonius that  the  partisans  of  the  murdered  hero  had  set  up 
a  column  of  Numidian  marble  (giallo  antico)  on  the  site 
where  the  pyre  had  been  formed,  inscribed  PARENTI  PATRICE 
(to  the  Father  of  the  country).  An  altar  was  placed  at  the 
foot  of  the  pillar,  which  became  for  some  time  the  centre 
of  a  rather  irregular  worship,  to  which  one  of  the  consuls, 

1  Nichols's  Forum,  p.  122. 


80     THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES   ON  THE  SACRA    VIA. 

C.  Antonius,  soon  put  a  stop  by  hurling  down  from  the 
Tarpeian  Rock  those  among  the  worshippers  who  were 
Roman  citizens,  and  by  crucifying  those  who  were  artisans 
and  slaves.  At  the  same  time  the  column  and  the  altar 
were  overthrown  by  order  of  the  other  consul,  Dolabella, 
the  son-in-law  of  Cicero.  These  violent  measures  gave  rise 
to  a  popular  outbreak,  followed  by  other  executions,  until 
the  Triumvirs  at  last  gave  satisfaction  to  the  hero-worship- 
pers by  raising  a  temple  inscribed  DIVO  IVLIO,  which  was 
brought  to  completion  by  Augustus. 

The  discovery  to  which  I  refer  is  that  of  the  exact  spot 
where  the  body  of  the  great  man  was  incinerated.  (See 
page  83.)  It  is  marked  by  an  altar  —  or,  to  speak  more 
accurately,  by  the  core  of  an  altar  —  built  of  concrete  with 
chips  of  Numidian  marble,  that  is,  with  the  fragments  of 
the  original  column  set  up  on  the  site  of  the  incineration 
and  overthrown  by  Dolabella.  If  we  remember  what  a 
prominent  place  belongs  to  Caesar  in  the  history  of  Rome, 
in  the  history  of  the  world,  we  cannot  help  feeling  a  deep 
gratification  at  being  able  to  behold  again  this  plain  slab 
of  stone  which  has  actually  been  in  contact  with  his  mor- 
tal remains,  and  which  marks  the  beginning  of  his  second 
life  as  a  deified  man,  as  a  god  of  the  Roman  Olympus. 

It  has  been  observed  that,  whatever  may  have  been  the 
sentiment  of  Eastern  or  Hellenic  nations  on  the  subject  of 
attributing  divine  honors  to  their  heroes,  who  had  lived 
mortal  lives,  the  Romans  hesitated  for  many  a  century  to 
adopt  the  fashion.  They  were  more  bent  on  worshipping 
abstractions  than  individuals  ;  but  towards  the  end  of  the 
Republic,  under  the  influence  of  Asianized  Greek  ideas, 
they  began  to  believe  that,  while  all  souls  were  immortal, 
those  of  the  great  and  good  were  divine.  Antistius  Labeo 
actually  wrote  a  book  about  this  time  on  gods  that  had 


THE   TEMPLE   OF  C/ESAR   AND   ITS    SURROUNDINGS 
(From  an  aerial  photograph  taken  by  Captain  Moris,  K.  E.) 


THE   NEW  DISCOVERIES    ON  THE   SACRA    VIA.     83 

been  men  (de  diis  animalibus),  and  little  by  little  the  ideas 
of  the  few  and  enlightened  became  the  ideas  of  the  "  vulgus 
profanum."  The  time  was  fully  ripe  for  deification  to  be 
practised  in  Rome,  and  the  man  came.  Julius  Caesar's 
brilliant  military  exploits  abroad,  and  his  overthrowing  the 
tyrannical  aristocracy  at  home,  made  him  the  adored  of 
the  people.  When  Octavian  Augustus  celebrated  in  his 


The  exact  place  where  the  body  of  Caesar  was  cremated. 

honor  the  games  of  Venus  Genetrix,  considered  to  be  the 
ancestral  goddess  of  the  Julian  family,  and  a  comet  ap- 
peared in  the  heavens,  described  by  Dion  Cassius,  xiv.  7, 
the  opinion  that  Caesar  had  become  a  god  became  universal. 
Next  year,  43  B.  c.,  Caesar  was  solemnly  enrolled  among 
the  gods  by  a  law  of  the  Senate,  called  "  lex  Rufrena,"  1 
under  the  name  "  Divus  Julius."  From  this  time  down- 

1  Corpus  Inscr.  i.  626  ;  ix.  2628. 


84     THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES   ON  THE  SACRA    VIA. 

wards  the  name  "  Divus  "  acquired  the  specific  meaning  of  a 
god  who  had  been  a  man,  while  "Deus"  was  a  god  from  the 
beginning.  It  is  still  alive  in  some  branches  of  the  Christian 
church  as  an  epithet  of  saint ;  in  fact,  as  Boissier  remarks 
in  his  book  "La  Religion  romaine"  (vol.  i.  p.  180),  apothe- 
osis among  the  ancients  corresponds  in  many  respects  with 
Christian  canonization. 

It  is  high  time,  however,  that  we  should  leave  the  Regia 
and  continue  our  peregrination  up  the  "  Clivus  Sacrae  Viae  " 
towards  the  summit  of  the  ridge  on  which  the  arch  of  Titus 
now  stands.  The  aspect  of  the  ascent  is  quite  different 
to-day  from  what  it  appeared  two  years  ago,  before  the  be- 
ginning of  the  present  excavations ;  we  seem  to  be  crossing 
a  district  fresh  from  pillage  and  devastation,  levelled  to  the 
ground  by  the  violence  of  man  combined  with  the  destruc- 
tive powers  of  nature.  And  yet  this  section  of  the  Sacred 
Way  was  once  the  most  fashionable  rendezvous  of  Roman 
society,  lined  by  the  richest  and  most  fascinating  shops  of 
the  Capital.  On  the  right  of  the  ascent  were  those  of  the 
jewellers  and  goldsmiths  and  makers  of  musical  instruments, 
while  florists,  chemists,  and  perfumers  displayed  their  goods 
on  the  opposite  side.  Here  were  also  the  consulting  rooms 
of  fashionable  physicians ;  and  here,  partly  on  the  site  of 
the  present  Basilica  Constantiniana,  rose  the  Horrea  Pipera- 
taria,  an  institution  of  the  time  of  Domitian,  the  scope  of 
which  was  to  provide  the  City  with  a  general  storehouse  for- 
the  preservation  and  sale  of  spices,  such  as  are  described 
by  Pliny  in  the  twelfth  book,  and  especially  of  pepper, 
which  the  Romans  had  learned  to  use  after  the  conquest 
of  Greece.  The  pepper  came  from  the  East  Indies  by  the 
way  of  the  Red  Sea,  and  was  probably  landed  at  Berenice 
or  at  Myoshormos,  from  whence  caravans  carried  it  to 
Coptos,  called  by  Pliny  "  Indicarum  Arabicarumque  mer- 


THE   NEW  DISCOVERIES    ON   THE   SACRA    VIA.     85 

cium  Nilo  proximum  emporium "  (the  emporium  on  the 
Nile,  for  Indian  and  Arabic  wares).  The  road  travelled 
over  by  these  caravans,  257  miles  long  according  to  Pliny, 
258  miles  according  to  the  itineraries  of  Antoninus  and 
Peutinger,  was  provided  with  reservoirs  of  water  in  the 
intermediate  halting-places  of  Apollonos,  Compasi,  and  so 
on,  and  with  military  outposts  against  the  robbers  of  the 
desert.  These  particulars  have  been  made  known  by  the 
inscriptions  discovered  by  Maspero  at  Kuf t,  in  March,  1883, 
and  commented  upon  by  Mommsen  in  vol.  v.,  1884,  of  the 
"  Ephemeris  Epigraphica." 

The  Romans  used  black  as  well  as  white  pepper,  and 
obtained  the  variety  by  the  different  treatment  of  the  berry. 
The  spice  was  served  in  elegant  "  piperatoria  "  or  pepper- 
boxes, which  ancient  writers  describe  among  the  silver 
plate.  The  only  one  of  these  objects  with  which  I  am 
acquainted  is,  in  fact,  of  silver,  in  the  form  of  a  Nubian 
slave  wearing  a  hooded  cloak,  bored  with  small  holes.  It 
was  discovered  at  Cahors,  in  France,  in  1885,  and  is  now 
exhibited  in  the  British  Museum.  Pepper  was  held  in 
such  esteem  that  the  chronographer  of  A.  D.  354  registers 
as  a  singular  event  of  the  reign  of  Augustus  the  arrival  of 
a  ship  from  Alexandria,  carrying  "  400  measures  of  wheat, 
pepper,  paper,  and  the  obelisk  which  is  now  in  the  Circus 
Maximus." 

The  Horrea  Piperataria  of  Domitian  were  destroyed  in 
the  fire  of  191,  shortly  before  the  death  of  Commodus,  to- 
gether with  the  entire  quarter  crossed  by  the  Clivus  Sacrae 
Via3.  The  texts  of  Galenus,  of  Dion  Cassius,  and  of  Hero- 
dianus,  which  describe  this  catastrophe,  have  been  collected 
and  illustrated  by  Nibby.1  Galenus,  whose  consulting 

1  Sopra  r  edificio  volgarmente  chiamato   Tempio  della  Pace.     Rome,  de  Ro- 
miinis,  1819. 


86     THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES   ON  THE  SACRA    VIA. 

rooms  and  pharmacy  were  located  on  the  same  street,  and 
almost  in  contact  with  the  Horrea,  lost  in  the  fire  the 
manuscript  of  his  first  two  books,  which  he  had  inadver- 
tently left  on  the  desk. 

The  Horrea  Piperataria  never  rose  again  from  their  ashes 
after  the  second  conflagration.  Maxentius  changed  the 
aspect  of  the  whole  district.  He  began  by  spreading  on 
the  spot  the  materials  of  the  gutted  buildings,  thus  raising 
the  level  of  the  Clivus  Sacrse  Vise  by  about  six  feet.  Over 
this  bed  of  rubbish,  by  which  the  last  remains  of  the  Horrea 
were  concealed  from  view,  he  laid  out  his  new  street,  to 
which  we  ought  to  attribute  the  praise  bestowed  by  Cara- 
calla's  biographer  on  his  new  street  Antoniniana  :  "  pulcher- 
rima  inter  Romanas  plateas  "  (the  finest  of  Roman  avenues) ! 
Instead  of  a  narrow  tortuous  lane,  without  sidewalks  and 
lined  with  shops,  Maxentius  carried  a  magnificent  road 
up  the  slope  of  the  Velia,  —  a  road  perfectly  straight,  181 
metres  long,  23  metres  wide,1  lining  it  on  the  north  side 
with  the  temple  of  his  son  Romulus  and  with  a  basilica  or 
court-house,  on  the  south  side  with  a  stately  portico,  called 
Porticus  Margaritaria  from  the  jewellers  whose  shops 
opened  under  its  arcades.  And  although  the  road  and  its 
surroundings  must  have  had  the  same  heavy  and  clumsy 
aspect  which  seems  to  be  characteristic  of  the  public  struc- 
tures of  the  Constantinian  age,  it  was  nevertheless  unique  of 
its  kind  in  Rome  —  "  latissima,"  if  not  "  pulcherrima  inter 
Romanas  plateas."  The  noble  avenue  is  no  more.  It  has 
been  obliterated  to  the  last  vestige  to  lay  bare  the  pavement 

1  Including  the  sidewalks,  which  are  8.20  metres  and  2.50  metres  wide 
respectively.  Its  h'rst  discovery  took  place  in  1818,  as  described  by  Nibby, 
Fea,  and  de  Romanis.  It  has  since  been  laid  bare  under  my  personal  direction, 
partly  in  1878-9,  partly  in  1882,  an  operation  which  I  have  described  and  illus- 
trated in  the  Notizie  degli  Scavi  for  1879,  pp.  14,  113,  pi.  vii.,  and  for  1882, 
p.  216,  pi.  xiv.-xvi. 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES   ON  THE  SACRA    VIA.     87 


us  Sacrse  Vise  of  the  time  of  Domitian,  discovered  June,  1899. 

of  the  Sacred  Way  of  the  time  of  Commodus  or  Domitian. 
What  we  have  left  to  remember  it  by  are  the  official  account 
and  maps  published  in  the  "  Notizie  degli  Scavi  "  for  1879 
and  1882,  sheet  twenty -ninth  of  my  "  Forma  Urbis,"  and  a 
narrow  belt  or  section  in  front  of  the  temple  of  Romulus, 
which  is  also  destined  to  disappear. 

The  basilica  raised  by  Maxentius  on  the  site  and  over 
the  remains  of  the  storehouses  for  oriental  spices  was  called 
at  first  the  Basilica  Nova.  It  seems  that  when  Maxentius 
lost  his  life  in  the  battle  of  Saxa  Rubra,  October  27,  312,  the 
building  was  nearly  completed,  because  a  silver  medallion 
bearing  the  legend  MAXENTIUS  P(ius)  F(elix)  Avc(ustus) 
was  discovered  in  1828,  embedded  in  a  block  of  masonry 
fallen  from  the  vaulted  ceiling  of  the  nave ;  the  Senate, 
however,  changed  its  name  of  Nova  into  that  of  Constan- 
tiniana  to  please  the  victorious  prince.  It  was  known  in 
the  middle  ages  as  the  Temple  of  Peace,  —  a  name  which  is 
still  attached  to  the  street  leading  from  the  basilica  towards 
the  Carinse  (Via  del  Tempio  della  Pace).  Nibby  gave  back 


88      THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES    ON   THE   SACRA    VIA. 

to  it  its  classic  and  genuine  denomination,  not  without  oppo- 
sition from  his  colleague,  Carlo  Fea ;  the  correspondence 
they  exchanged,  and  the  pamphlets  they  wrote  on  this  sub- 
ject, are  so  filled  with  bitterness  and  vituperation,  espe- 
cially on  Fea's  side,  that  one  would  think  they  were  engaged 
in  a  political  discussion. 

There  are  a  few  points  in  the  history  of  this  edifice  but 
little  known  to  students.  I  have  found  in  the  city  archives 
a  deed  of  1547  by  which  the  city  magistrates  give  permis- 
sion to  Eurialo  Silvestri  from  Cingoli  to  lay  out  a  garden 
on  the  roof  of  the  north  aisle,  which  he  filled  with  works  of 
•statuary.  The  hanging  garden  and  the  grounds  by  which 
the  basilica  is  surrounded  on  the  east  side  became  later  on 
the  property  of  Cardinal  Rodolfo  Pio  da  Carpi,  towards  the 
end  of  the  century,  and  of  Cardinal  Alessandro  de'  Medici, 
who  collected  within  their  precincts  such  a  number  of 
statues,  busts,  pedestals,  and  inscriptions  that  few  other 
private  museums  in  Rome  could  stand  comparison  with  these 
"  giardini  di  S.  Maria  Nuova." 

Another  interesting  chapter  could  be  written  about  the 
fate  of  the  eight  columns  of  Proconnesian  marble  which 
supported  the  vaulted  ceiling  of  the  nave  of  the  basilica, 
and  of  the  four  columns  of  porphyry  which  decorated  its 
side  entrance.  The  broken  shafts  were  made  use  of  for  the 
rebuilding  of  St.  Peter's ;  one  whole  column  was  removed 
to  the  Piazza  di  S.  Maria  Maggiore  by  Paul  V.  in  1613, 
and  set  up  in  honor  of  the  Virgin  Mary.  The  diameter  of 
these  pillars  was  so  great  that  Simone  Maschino  of  Carrara 
was  able  to  cut  out  of  a  single  block  the  group  representing 
the  Duke  Alessandro  Farnese  crowned  by  a  Victory,  with 
the  allegorical  figures  of  the  river  Scheldt  and  of  Flanders 
at  his  feet,  which  group  is  now  exhibited  in  the  great  hall 
of  the  Farnese  palace. 


THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES   ON  THE  SACRA    VIA.     89 

The  newly  discovered  ascent  of  the  Sacred  Way  is  con- 
nected with  a  more  or  less  legendary  event  of  the  apostolic 
age,  the  flight  and  the  fall  of  Simon  the  Magician.  Two 
facts  concerning  the  career  of  this  extraordinary  adven- 
turer are  accepted  as  historical  facts  by  Tillemont,  Fabiani, 
and  de  Rossi,  on  the  authority  of  Justin,  of  Irenseus,  and  of 
the  "  Philosophumena,"  namely,  that  he  did  profess  occult 
sciences  in  Rome  at  the  time  of  Nero,  and  that  he  came  in 
contact  and  in  opposition  either  with  Peter  alone  or  with 
Peter  and  Paul.  The  incident  of  the  flight,  however,  is  a 
later  addition,  of  the  end  of  the  third  or  of  the  beginning  of 
the  fourth  century.  It  appears  for  the  first  time  in  the 
Acta  Petri  cum  Marcello  and  again  in  the  pseudo-Marcellus. 
According  to  these  apocryphal  documents,  Simon,  the  Samar- 
itan sorcerer  from  Gitton,  the  arch-heresiarch,  the  father  of 
simony,  named  by  the  people  "  that  power  of  God  which  is 
called  great,"  annoyed  at  the  behavior  of  the  Romans  who 
were  abandoning  him  to  follow  the  teaching  of  St.  Peter, 
announced  that  he  would  ascend  to  heaven  to  complain  of 
their  conduct  to  God  his  father.  A  large  crowd  gathered 
on  the  Sacred  Way  to  see  him  fulfil  his  promise ;  and  he 
had  actually  begun  to  lift  himself  up  in  the  air,  when  Peter 
prayed  God  to  unmask  the  impostor  before  the  crowd,  and 
let  him  fall  without  great  injury  to  his  limbs.  The  request 
of  the  apostle  was  granted,  and  Simon  dropped  on  the  lava 
pavement  of  the  road,  breaking  his  right  leg  in  three 
places.  His  followers  removed  him  in  a  stretcher  first  to 
Aricia,  later  to  Terracina,  where  he  died  under  the  care  of 
the  attending  physicians. 

This  legend  must  be  relegated  among  the  many  similar 
ones,  composed  and  circulated  in  Rome  after  the  peace  of 
the  Church,  to  please  and  interest  the  lower  classes,  —  "le 
populaire,"  as  Duchesne  calls  them,  —  still  wavering  between 


90     THE  NEW  DISCOVERIES   ON  THE  SACRA    VIA. 

the  religion  of  their  ancestors  and  the  Gospel.  These 
pious  novels  of  the  fourth  century,  the  pseudo-Linus,  the 
pseudo-Marcellus,  the  Acta  Apostolorum,  the  Passiones 
Martyrum,  the  Acta  Petri  cum  Simone,  etc.,  while  they 
imagine  or  alter  facts.,  are  perfectly  genuine  as  far  as  topo- 
graphical details  are  concerned ;  and  the  reason  is  clear. 
While  nobody  could  challenge  their  accuracy  as  regards 
events  which  had  taken  place  in  bygone  times,  especially  in 
times  of  persecution,  any  blunder  about  places  and  monu- 
ments would  be  at  once  detected  by  the  reader.  The  more 
these  novels  respected  topographical  exactitude,  the  more 
chance  they  had  to  pass  as  genuine. 

This  story  of  Simon  the  Sorcerer,  brought  down  in  his 
audacious  flight  by  the  superior  power  of  Simon  the  Apos- 
tle, took  Rome  by  storm,  and  from  Rome  spread  through 
all  the  provinces  of  the  Empire,  never  losing  its  popularity 
down  to  our  own  times.  It  is  mentioned  in  book  ii.  of 
the  Apology  of  Arnobius,  written  about  A.  D.  303,  in  the 
contemporary  Acta  Petri  cum  Simone,  in  the  letters  of  the 
Legates  of  Pope  Liberius  to  Eusebius,  bishop  of  Vercellae 
A.  D.  355,  and  in  the  "  Hsereses  "  of  Epiphanius,  where  the 
accident  is  described  to  have  taken  place  "  in  the  middle 
of  the  city  of  the  Romans."  These  documents  agree  in 
stating  that  the  evidence  of  the  prodigy  could  be  gathered 
"  to  the  present  day  "  (usque  in  hodiernum  diem)  from  the 
paving-stones  of  the  Sacred  Way  itself,  one  of  which  bore 
the  marks  of  the  knees  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  when  they 
knelt  to  beg  God  to  unmask  the  impostor ;  while  another, 
of  extraordinary  size,  had  been  miraculously  coagulated,  as 
it  were,  out  of  four  paving-stones  upon  which  the  limbs  of 
Simon  had  been  scattered  by  the  fall. 

Speaking  of  these  details,  de  Rossi  says  *  that  while  the 

1  Bull.  Crist.,  1867,  p.  71. 


THE   NEW  DISCOVERIES    ON  THE  SACRA    VIA.     91 

silence  of  Justin,  of  Irenseus,  and  of  the  Philosophumena 
impels  us  to  deny  the  truth  of  the  legend  as  far  as  the 
apostles  are  concerned,  it  seems  certain,  on  the  other  hand, 
that  a  man  skilled  in  the  secrets  of  nature,  a  student  of 
aeronautics,  a  classic  precursor  of  Montgolfier,  a  man  used  to 
performing  on  the  stage  the  part  of  the  "  Deus  ex  machina," 
had  attempted  to  imitate  before  the  Emperor  Nero  the  flight 
of  Icarus.  The  inventor  and  his  machine  came  to  grief, 
but  it  is  only  at  the  end  of  the  third  century  that  Peter  and 
Paul  are  made  to  appear  on  the  scene,  and  cross  the  path 
of  the  sorcerer. 

The  alleged  miraculous  stones  with  the  impression  of  the 
knees  of  St.  Peter  were  removed  from  the  pavement  of  the 
Clivus  Sacrae  Vise  to  the  church  of  S.  Maria  Nova,  now 
S.  Francesca  Romana,  about  A.  D.  1375.  Before  that  time 
they  were  shown  to  the  pilgrims  in  their  original  place, 
where  they  had  given  rise  to  the  following  superstitious 
practices.  On  stormy  days  the  rain  water  descending  the 
steep  slope  of  the  clivus  would  fill  up  the  two  cavities, 
where,  according  to  the  statement  of  Gregory  of  Tours, 
ailing  pilgrims  drank  it  or  signed  or  washed  themselves 
with  it,  with  the  most  satisfactory  results  ;  "  haustaeque  mox 
sanitatem  tribuebant !  "  The  stones  are  still  visible  at  the 
right  end  of  the  transept  of  S.  Francesca  Romana,  set  into 
the  wall  near  the  tomb  of  Gregory  XI.  Unfortunately  the 
recent  discovery  of  the  Clivus  Sacra  Via3  proves  that  since 
the  attempt  of  Simon  the  Magician,  certified  by  Dion  Cas- 
sius,  Suetonius,  and  Juvenal,  the  pavement  of  the  road  has 
been  destroyed,  relaid.  and  raised  to  a  higher  level  at  least 
twice ;  and  that  the  one  on  which  the  alleged  marks  of  the 
prodigy  were  shown  to  mediaeval  pilgrims  had  been  made 
ex  novo  by  Maxentius  some  225  years  after  the  prodigy 
had  taken  place ! 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE    SACRED    GROVE    OF    THE    ARVALES. 

THE  first  gods  to  whom  divine  honors  were  offered  by 
the  builders  of  the  Palatine  city  were  those  who  supplied 
their  hearthstones  with  fire,  made  their  crops  prosper  and 
ripen,  protected  their  flocks  and  their  ancestral  fields  from 
the  rapacity  of  men  and  of  beasts  of  prey,  helped  them  to 
quench  their  thirst,  or  get  rid  of  their  ailments  at  the  pure 
healing  springs,  and  to  find  shelter  and  shade  in  the  fra- 
grant groves  with  which  their  hillsides  were  clothed.  All 
is  simple  and  pastoral  in  the  tribute  of  gratefulness  that  the 
primitive  Romans  were  wont  to  offer  to  the  merciful  beings, 
whose  protection  they  enjoyed  ;  and  never  the  lyre  of  classic 
poets  has  found  a  sweeter  rhythm  than  when  the  canticle  is 
addressed  to  the  sacred  springs  and  to  the  sacred  groves. 

"  O  Fons  Bandusise,  splendidior  vitro, 
dulei  digne  mero,"  etc. 

"  Spring  of  Bandusia,  more  clear  than  glass,  worthy  of 
pleasant  wine  and  flowers  withal,  to-morrow  shalt  thou  be 
presented  with  .  .  .  the  offspring  of  the  playful  herd  .  .  . 
Thou  to  oxen  wearied  with  the  ploughshare,  and  to  the 
wandering  herd,  dost  afford  a  delicious  coolness.  Thou 
also  shalt  become  one  of  the  ennobled  fountains,  when  I 
sing  of  the  ilex-tree  set  upon  the  hollow  crags,  from  whence 
thy  babbling  brooks  dance  down."  l  So  Horace  addresses 
the  spring  flowing  by  his  farmhouse  of  Digentia,  the  ruins 

1  Horace,  Od.  iii.  13,  Lonsdale  and  Lee's  translation,  London,  Macmillan, 
1874,  p.  64. 


THE  SACRED   GROVE   OF   THE  ARVALES.        93 

of  which  are  still  shown  in  the  upper  valley  of  the  Licenza, 
above  the  village  of  Roccagiovine. 

Plinv,  speaking  of  the  great  love  for  nature  displayed  by 
noble  Romans,  mentions  Passienus  Crispus,  orator,  consul, 
husband  of  Agrippina,  and  Nero's  stepfather,  who  owned  a 
grove  on  a  hill  near  Tusculum  named  Corne,1  where  lived 
a  tree  which  he  cherished  and  worshipped  above  all  things. 
He  would  embrace  it,  and  lie  under  its  shade,  and  pour 
wine  on  its  roots.  The  same  grove  contained  another  ven- 
erable ilex-tree,  thirty-four  feet  in  circumference,  which,  at 
a  great  height  from  the  ground,  divided  itself  into  ten 
branches,  each  equalling  a  large  trunk  in  size.  Pliny  calls 


The  valley  of  the  Anio  near  Roccagiovine. 

this  ilex  a  forest  by  itself.  There  is  no  doubt  that  love  of 
nature  and  appreciation  for  natural  beauty  were  instinc- 
tive among  the  Greeks,  and.  in  a  lesser  degree,  among  the 
Romans.  It  is  revealed  in  the  graceful  shape  of  their 
temples,  in  the  harmony  of  their  polychrome  ornamentation, 
in  the  arrangement  of  their  floral  decorations,  and  above 

1  The  present  Villa  Cavalletti,  west  of  Frascati. 


94         THE   SACRED   GROVE    OF  THE  ARVALES. 

all  in  the  selection  of  sites  for  their  places  of  worship.  In 
this  last  respect  they  remain  unrivalled.  The  following 
lines  were  suggested  to  Chateaubriand  by  the  sight  of  the 
temple  of  Minerva  on  the  promontory  of  Sunium.  "  The 
Greeks,"  he  says,  "  excelled  not  less  in  the  choice  of  the 
sites  of  their  edifices  than  in  the  architecture  of  the  temples 
themselves.  Most  of  the  promontories  of  the  Peloponnese, 
of  Attica,  Ionia,  and  the  islands  of  the  Archipelago  were 
crowned  with  temples,  trophies,  and  tombs.  These  monu- 
ments, surrounded  by  woods  and  rocks,  viewed  in  all  the 
accidents  of  light,  sometimes  enveloped  in  sable  thunder- 
clouds, sometimes  reflecting  the  soft  beams  of  the  moon, 
the  golden  rays  of  the  setting  sun,  or  the  radiant  tints  of 
the  dawn,  must  have  imparted  incomparable  beauty  to  the 
coasts  of  Greece.  Thus  decorated,  the  land  presented  itself 
to  the  mariner  under  the  features  of  the  ancient  Cybele, 
who,  crowned  with  towers  and  seated  on  the  shore,  com- 
manded her  son  Neptune  to  pour  forth  his  waves  at  her 
feet. 

"  Christianity,  to  which  we  are  indebted  for  the  only  species 
of  architecture  conformable  to  our  manners,  also  taught  us 
the  proper  situations  for  our  structures.  Our  (mediaeval) 
chapels,  our  abbeys,  our  monasteries,  were  scattered  among 
woods  and  upon  the  summits  of  hills,  not  that  the  choice  of 
sites  was  always  a  premeditated  design  of  the  architect,  but 
because  art,  when  in  unison  with  the  customs  of  a  nation, 
adopts  instinctively  the  best  methods  that  can  be  pursued." 

And  speaking  of  the  present  degeneration  of  feeling  on 
this  point,  especially  in  connection  with  civic  edifices,  he 
adds  :  "  Did  we  ever  think,  for  instance,  of  adorning  the  only 
eminence  that  overlooks  Paris?  Religion  alone  thought  of 
this  for  us." 1  He  could  have  mentioned  likewise  Notre 

1  Travels  in  Greece,  Palestine,  etc.,  by  F.  A.  de  Chateaubriand,  translated  by 
Frederic  Shoberl,  2d  ed.,  London,  Colburn,  1812. 


THE  SACRED   GROVE   OF  THE  AR VALES.        95 

Dame  de  Fourvieres  at  Lyons,  Notre  Dame  de  la  Garde  at 
Marseilles,  Notre  Dame  of  the  Haute  Ville  at  Boulogne,  and 
many  others,  which  appear  to  the  pilgrim  and  to  the  mari- 
ner in  the  same  glorious  light  as  the  shrines  and  temples 
which  once  crowned  the  headlands  of  the  ^Egean  and  the 
Tyrrhenian  seas. 

Were  we  to  take  a  survey  of  the  Campagna,  and  of  the 
various  ranges  of  mountains  by  which  it  is  framed,  from  a 
lofty  point  of  vantage,  —  from  the  dome  of  St.  Peter's,  for 
instance,  or  from  the  belfry  of  S.  Maria  Maggiore,  —  we 
should  be  surprised  at  the  number  of  high  peaks  consecrated 
to  the  Deity  in  ancient  or  mediaeval  times,  but  which  the 
modern  generations  have  deprived  of  their  beautiful  ruins 
and  their  beautiful  clothing  of  green.  From  the  Mons  Al- 
banus,  upon  which  stood  the  federal  temple  of  Jupiter,  to 
the  Mons  Afflianus,  crowned  by  the  temple  of  the  Bona 
Dea,  and  to  Soracte,  once  sacred  to  Apollo,  each  summit 
once  bore  a  white  temple  visible  from  every  corner  of  the 
old  land  of  Saturn,  or  a  mediaeval  abbey,  under  the  roof  of 
which  the  weary  pilgrim  might  find  rest,  help,  and  protec- 
tion. Temples  and  churches  have  equally  disappeared  ;  and 
woe  to  the  lonely  traveller  seeking  shelter  from  the  fury  of 
the  storm,  or  advice  about  his  lost  track.  Silence  and  deso- 
lation reign  alone  on  the  abandoned  peaks  ! 

Early  Roman  religion  can  best  be  studied  in  two  institu- 
tions which  date  from  the  beginning  of  the  City,  the  sister- 
hood of  the  Vestals  and  the  priesthood  of  the  Arvales.  I 
have  spoken  at  length  of  the  first  in  chapter  vi.  of  "  Ancient 
Rome,"  and  I  have  nothing  to  add  to  the  account  already 
given.  Before  entering,  however,  into  the  subject  of  the 
Arvales,  I  must  mention  another  branch  of  rural  worship, 
that  of  the  gods  who  protected  the  ancestral  field  from  the 
encroaching-  of  the  neighbor. 


96        THE  SACRED   GROVE   OF  THE  ARVALES. 

The  early  settlements  in  the  lower  valley  of  the  Tiber,. 
Antemnae,  Fidenae,  Collatia,  Veii,  Gabii,  Ardea,  and  Rome, 
were  all  organized  on  the  same  system,  as  far  as  division  of 
property  was  concerned.  Their  walls  or  palisades  or  earth- 
works enclosed  an  area  ten  times  as  large  as  that  required 
by  the  number  of  inhabitants,  because  they  shared  it  with 
their  flocks,  and  each  hut,  made  of  a  framework  of  boughs 
and  covered  by  a  thatched  roof,  had  its  own  orchard  and 
sheepfold.  This  condition  of  things  has  been  admirably 
illustrated  by  the  discoveries  made  at  Veii  and  Antemnae, 
under  my  personal  supervision,  where  traces  of  huts  (hard- 
trodden,  coal-stained  floor  within  a  ring  of  rough  stones) 
have  been  found  at  a  considerable  distance  from  each  other. 
The  city  of  the  Palatine  was  not  different  from  Veii  and 
Antemnae  ;  in  fact,  the  characteristics  of  the  "  agellus  "  and 
the  sheepfold  must  have  been  even  more  prominent  in 
Rome,  because  its  population  was  essentially  pastoral.  The 
village  had  two  gates,  the  names  of  which  have  come  down 
to  us :  one,  leading  to  the  Rumon  (river),  was  called  "  Ru- 
manula  ; "  the  other,  leading  to  the  pasture  lands  of  the 
Oppian,  was  called  "  Mugonia,"  from  the  lowing  of  cattle. 

The  agellus  attached  to  the  huts  contained  also  the 
family  tombs.  The  neighborhood  of  the  River-gate  was 
called  "ad  Statuam  Cinciae  "  because  there  was  the  "sepul- 
crum  familiae  "  and  the  "  casa "  of  the  Cincii.1  In  this 
state  of  things  it  was  necessary  to  define  and  protect  the 
limits  of  each  piece  of  ground  which  had  become  heredi- 
tary, because  it  had  been  cultivated  and  settled  upon  by  one 
single  family  for  a  certain  lapse  of  time.  The  trees  growing- 
nearest  to  the  boundary  line  became,  therefore,  "arbores 
finales  et  terminates,"  sacred  to  Terminus  or  to  Silvan  us ; 
and  when  there  were  no  trees  available  for  the  purpose, 

1  The  family  tomb  and  the  family  hut. 


THE   SAC  MED    GROVE    OF  THE   AtiVALES.         97 


The  cliffs  of  Veii  at  the  Ponte  Sodo. 

they  would  make  use  of  stones,  or  of  wooden  posts  called 
"  stipites  oleagini  "  or  "  pali  sacrificales."  The  setting  up 
of  these  boundary  marks  was  consecrated  by  a  sacrifice ; 
a  trench  was  dug,  a  victim  was  slain,  its  blood  was  cast  into 
the  trench,  together  with  corn,  fruit,  incense,  honey,  and 
wine  ;  the  whole  being  consumed  by  blazing  pine-brands. 
On  this  bed  of  ashes  the  stone  or  post  was  set  up.  The 
"  Terminalia  "  or  annual  feast  of  the  Terminal  gods  fell  on 
February  23  ;  and  was  celebrated  among  neighbors,  as  well 
as  by  the  city  in  general.  The  public  festival  was  performed 
at  the  sixth  milestone  of  the  Via  Laurentina,  probably  be- 
cause this  was  originally  the  extent  of  the  Roman  territory 
in  that  direction. 

To  explain  the  evolution  of  these  shapeless  stones  and 
posts  into  the  beautiful  "  hermae  "  of  later  times,  we  must 
refer  to  the  Greek  custom  on  this  subject.  There  were  to 


98        THE  SACRED   GROVE   OF  THE  AR VALES. 

be  seen  in  many  parts  of  Greece  heaps  of  stones  at  the 
crossings  of  roads,  or  on  the  boundaries  of  land,  called 
ep/xeta,  ep/xata,  ep/xatot  Ad<£oi,  because  Hermes  was  the 
presiding  god  over  the  common  intercourse  of  life,  traffic, 
journeys,  roads,  boundaries,  and  so  forth.  The  heaps  of 
stones  were  succeeded  in  progress  of  time  by  a  single  block, 
the  sacred  character  of  which  was  acknowledged  by  pouring 
oil  upon  it  and  adorning  it  with  garlands  of  wild  flowers. 
The  first  attempt  at  an  artistic  development  of  the  rude 
block  was  the  addition  of  a  head,  in  the  features  of  which 
the  characteristics  of  the  god  were  supposed  to  be  expressed. 
This  is  the  origin  of  the  "  hermse  "  or  "  hermuli  "  statues 
composed  of  a  head  placed  on  a  quadrangular  pillar,  the 
height  of  which  corresponds  to  the  stature  of  the  human 
body.  They  became  very  popular  objects  among  the 
Greeks,  who  lavished  them  in  front  of  their  houses,  temples, 
gymnasia,  palestrae,  libraries,  porticoes,  at  the  corners  of 
streets,  at  the  crossings  of  highroads  as  signposts  with  dis- 
tances inscribed  upon  them,  etc.  So  great  was  the  demand 
for  these  hermae  that  the  word  ep/AoyXv^o?  became  the  syn- 
onym for  a  sculptor.  They  retained  their  original  name 
even  in  case  the  head  or  bust  represented  no  deity  at  all, 
but  the  portrait  of  an  illustrious  man.  This  last  class  was 
in  great  demand  among  the  wealthy  Romans  for  the  deco- 
ration of  their  gardens  and  villas,  in  which  places,  strange 
to  say,  they  were  brought  back  to  their  original  scope,  being 
used  as  posts  for  wooden  railings,  on  the  border  line  between 
the  paths  or  avenues  and  the  lawns  or  shubberies  or  pine 
groves.  In  this  case  they  were  commonly  crowned  with  the 
portrait  busts  of  philosophers,  historians,  poets,  tragedians, 
each  being  inscribed  with  the  name  of  its  subject.  It  is 
easy  to  understand  what  benefits  the  science  of  iconogra- 
phy has  derived  from  these  labelled  portrait  heads ;  in  fact, 


THE  SACRED  GROVE   OF  THE  ARVALES. 


99 


one  of  the  first  archaeological  handbooks  produced  in  the 
sixteenth  century  is  the  "  Imagines  Virorum  Illustrium  " 
of  Fulvio  Orsino,  published  in  1570  by  Antonio  Lafreri 
with  more  than  a  hundred  exquisite  illustrations. 

The  wealthy  and  learned  Romans  of   the  last  century  of 


The  Pianella  di  Cassio  near  Tivoli. 

the  Republic  or  of  the  Golden  Age  of  Augustus,  who  covered 
the  hillsides  of  Tusculum,  Tibur,  and  Praeneste  and  lined 
the  shores  of  Antium,  of  Formiae,  and  Bajae  with  their  mag- 
nificent country  seats,  paid  this  tribute  of  honor  to  every 
one  who  had  obtained  fame  in  the  literary  and  scientific 
world,  none  excepted.  We  remember,  for  instance,  the  ex- 
citement caused  in  1896  by  the  discovery  of  the  fragments 
of  the  poems  of  Bacchylides,  which  were  so  beautifully  re- 
produced in  facsimile  by  F.  G.  Kenyon.  There  is  no  use  in 
denying  that  the  name  of  the  great  lyrist,  born  at  Julis,  in 
the  island  of  Ceos,  towards  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century 


100      THE  SACRED   GROVE    OF  THE  AR VALES. 

B.  c.,  considered  by  the  ancients  as  a  worthy  rival  of  Pindar, 
was  almost  ignored  or  forgotten  at  the  time  of  the  discovery. 
Not  so  in  ancient  times.  The  Romans  offered  to  Bacchylides 
the  same  honors  they  were  wont  to  pay  to  Pindar. 

The  evidence  of  this  fact,  not  generally  known  to  students, 
is  to  be  found  in  the  discoveries  made  in  1775  at  the  "  Pia- 
nella  di  Cassio  "  among  the  ruins  of  the  Villa  of  Brutus, 
one  mile  east  of  Tivoli,  or  the  road  called  di  Carciano  or 
Cassiano.  To  the  substructures  of  this  delightful  villa, 
built  partly  in  opus  incertum,  partly  in  the  so-called  Pelasgic 
or  polygonal  masonry,  age  has  given  a  golden-brownish 
hue,  such  as  is  seen  in  the  late  fall  in  our  forests,  when  the 
setting  sun  strikes  the  half  dried  leaves  of  the  oak  or  the 
chestnut.  The  gardens  are  now  represented  by  groves  of 
olives,  two  or  three  centuries  old,  the  quiet  green  of  which 
harmonizes  well  with  the  color  of  the  ruins.  (See  page  99.) 

As  the  sixteenth  century  can  boast  of  the  finds  made  by 
Paul  III.  in  the  Baths  of  Caracalla,  the  seventeenth  of  those 
made  by  Innocent  X.  and  Clement  X.  in  the  palace  of  the 
Valerii  on  the  CaBlian,  so  the  following  one  will  be  remem- 
bered forever  for  the  discoveries  obtained  in  this  Villa  of 
Brutus.  Visconti  describes  the  search  as  "  uno  de  piu 
insigni  scavi  de  nostri  tempi."  Seventeen  statues  were 
brought  to  light  from  the  ruins  of  a  hall  of  basilical  type, 
and  twenty  hermae  from  the  site  of  the  gardens.  There 
were  the  portrait  busts  of  Antisthenes,  Bias,  Periander, 
^Eschines,  inscribed  with  their  names,  and  the  headless  her- 
mae  of  Anacreon,  of  Chabrias,  of  Pittacus  with  the  motto 
"  Know  the  time,  "  of  Solon  with  the  motto  "  Not  too 
much,"  and  of  Cleobulus  with  the  motto  "  Keep  an  even 
mind."  There  were  seven  plinths  or  pedestals  of  hermae 
bearing  the  names  of  Pisistratus,  Lycurgus,  Archytas, 
Hermarchos,  Diogenes ;  and  lastly  of  Bacchylides  and 


THE  SACRED    GROVE    OF  THE  ARVALES.      101 

Pindar.     All  these  marbles  are  now  exhibited  in   the  Sala 
delle  Muse  in  the  Vatican  Museum. 

In  respect  of  discoveries  and  excavations  the  reign  of 
Pope  Braschi  will  remain  quite  unrivalled.  Instead  of  fet- 
tering or  forbidding  private  enterprise  and  of  grudging  to 
private  collectors  every  fragment,  however  indifferent,  of 
antique  marbles  or  terracottas,  Pius  VI.  invited  landowners 
and  excavators  to  collaborate  with  him  in  the  recovery  of 
works  of  art  and  of  epigraphic  documents.  I  am  just  now 
perusing  the  registers  of  the  Vatican  Museum  of  the  last 
quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  I  simply  wonder 


NO  \Y" 


The  motto  "  Know  Thyself '"  in  a  mosaic  floor  in  a  tomb  of  the  Appian  Way. 

at  the  exquisite  taste  and  discernment  of  the  pontiff  who 
would  allow  no  one  but  himself  to  decide  on  the  subject  of 
acquisitions  for  the  Museo  Pio  Clementine,  or  of  exportation 
of  antiques  to  foreign  countries.  And  whenever  exporta- 


102      THE  SACRED   GROVE    OF  THE  ARVALES. 

tion  was  denied,  or  an  embargo  put  on  a  statue  or  on  an 
inscription,  he  declared  himself  ready  to  purchase  the  object 
at  a  just  price.  No  wonder  that  his  call  should  have  been 
answered  by  many,  and  that  the  greatest  activity  should 
have  prevailed  in  the  field  of  discoveries. 

Were  we  to  accept  in  a  strict  sense  Roman  religious  tradi- 
tions, the  brotherhood  of  the  Arvales  and  the  worship  of 
the  Dea  Dia  ought  to  be  considered  even  older  than  the 
worship  of  Vesta  and  the  sisterhood  of  the  Vestals.  These 
referred  their  institution  to  the  time  of  Numa,  the  Arvales 
to  the  time  of  the  founder  of  the  City.  The  Arvales  formed 
a  college  of  twelve  priests  whose  duty  it  was  to  offer  sacri- 
fices for  the  prosperity  of  the  fields  (arvd)  and  to  implore 
the  blessings  of  heaven  on  the  produce  of  the  soil.  The 
legend  says  that  when  Acca  Larentia  lost  one  of  her  twelve 
sons,  Romulus  allowed  himself  to  be  adopted  in  his  place, 
and  called  himself  and  the  other  eleven  "  fratres  Arvales ;  " 
but,  as  I  have  remarked  in  chapter  i.  of  "  Ancient  Rome," 
legends  are  not  necessary  to  prove  the  extreme  antiquity  of 
the  brotherhood.  In  the  commentaries,  or  minutes  of  its 
periodical  meetings,  of  which  I  shall  speak  presently,  it  is 
said  that,  whenever  iron  tools  were  brought  into  the  sacred 
grove  of  the  Dea  Dia,  as  for  engraving  the  annual  records 
on  the  base  of  the  temple,  or  for  the  lopping  and  felling  of 
the  trees,  expiatory  sacrifices  were  performed  "  ob  ferri  in- 
lationem,"  or  "  elationem,"  that  is,  to  purify  the  temple  and 
the  grove  from  the  unlawful  contact  with  the  metal.  This 
practice  shows  that  the  worship  was  instituted  in  the  age  of 
bronze,  before  the  introduction  of  iron.  The  abhorrence 
of  the  use  of  iron,  however,  is  not  the  only  recollection  of 
prehistoric  ages  to  be  found  in  the  Arvalian  ritual.  It  was 
known  that  at  the  time  of  the  foundation  of  the  City,  the 


THE  SACRED  GROVE   OF  THE  ARVALES.      103 

inhabitants  used  pottery  and  domestic  earthenware  made 
by  hand  and  baked  in  an  open  fire,  exactly  like  the  one 
which  is  found  in  the  necropolis  of  Alba  Longa  buried 
under  three  strata  of  volcanic  sand,  lapilli,  and  other  erup- 
tive materials.  In  memory  of  this  primitive  state  of  things 
the  use  of  earthenware  was  obligatory,  or  at  any  rate  pre- 
ferred in  sacrifices  and  libations.  Even  the  sacred  fire  of 
Vesta  was  kept  burning  in  an  earthen  receptacle.  Juvenal 
describes  the  "  Simpuvium  Numse,"  the  drinking  cup  of 
Numa  Pompilius,  —  a  relic  preserved  down  to  the  fall  of  the 
Empire,  —  with  exactly  the  same  words  we  should  use  in  de- 
scribing the  fossil  pottery  of  Alba  Longa.  Now  in  the  Acta 
Arvalium  the  following  record  is  engraved  more  than  once  : 
"  ollas  precati  sunt  "  (they  have  addressed  their  prayers  to 
earthen  jars).  In  reading  this  statement  we  could  not  help 
thinking  of  the  worship  of  Numa's  drinking  cup ;  still,  no 
evidence  of  the  fact  could  be  produced.  In  1870,  I  do  not 
remember  exactly  whether  at  the  foot  of  the  temple  of  the 
Dea  Dia  or  on  the  highest  part  of  the  sacred  grove,  eighteen 
prehistoric  cups  were  found,  which,  although  in  a  more  or 
less  fragmentary  state,  could  be  recognized  as  absolutely 
identical  with  the  fossil  pottery  of  Alba  Longa. 

The  sacred  grove  and  place  of  meeting  of  the  Arvales 
was  at  the  fifth  milestone  of  the  Via  Campana,  now  called 
Strada  della  Magliana,  on  the  slope  of  a  hill  now  occupied 
by  the  Vigna  Ceccarelli,  at  a  place  quaintly  called  "  Affoga 
1'  Asino."  The  writer  of  the  otherwise  excellent  article  in 
Smith's  Dictionary,  vol.  i.  p.  199b,  speaking  of  the  Arvales 
meeting  "in  luco  dese  Dise  via  Campana  apud  lapidem  V.," 
says,  "  There  is  no  road  known  as  the  Via  Campana,  and  the 
one  on  which  the  spot  is  actually  situated  leads  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Tiber,  and  not  into  Campania.  The  phrase  .  .  . 
probably  means  country  road  (Feldstrasse)  and  may  con- 


104      THE  SACRED  GROVE    OF  THE  AR  VALES. 


The  Vigna  Ceccarelli,  the  former  seat  of  the  Arvales. 

tain  a  trace  of  the  process  by  which  the  district  round  Rome 
has  come  to  be  known  as  the  Campagna."  This  state- 
ment is  incorrect.  The  via  was  called  Campana,  from  the 
remotest  antiquity,  because  it  led  to  the  Campus  Salinarum 
Romanarum,  even  now  retaining  its  twenty-six  centuries 
old  name  of  Camposalino.  I  have  been  able  to  discover 
this  point  in  a  rather  unexpected  way. 

Before  the  marshes  of  Maccarese  and  Camposalino  —  the 
ancient  salt  work  of  the  Vejentes  —  were  drained  in  1889, 
a  boatman  used  to  ferry  sportsmen  from  the  local  railway 
station  to  the  shooting-grounds,  on  the  opposite  shore  of 
the  swamp,  and  fasten  his  canoe  to  a  rope  attached  to  a  heavy 
piece  of  marble,  in  the  place  of  an  anchor.  In  the  winter 
of  1887  the  antiquarian  Alberici,  while  duck-shooting  in  that 
boat,  noticed  that  there  were  letters  engraved  on  the  face  of 
the  marble.  On  closer  examination  it  proved  to  be  a  val- 
uable document,  viz.,  the  plinth  of  a  statuette  representing 


THE  SACRED   GROVE   OF  THE  AR VALES.      105 

the  Genius  of  the  guild  of  salt-carriers  (Genius  saccariorum 
salariorum)  who  carried  the  salt  in  sacks  from  the  Campus 
Salinarum  to  Porto  and  to  Rome,  following  the  road  ac- 
cordingly named  Via  Campana.  This  valuable  document 
is  now  exhibited  in  Hall  I.  of  the  Museo  Municipal e  al  Celio. 


The  Temple  of  the  Dea  Dia  restored. 

The  first  discovery  of  the  seat  of  the  Arvales  at  the  fifth 
milestone  of  this  road,  in  a  field  then  belonging  to  Fabrizio 
Galletti,  seems  to  have  taken  place  under  the  pontificate  of 
Gregory  XIII.,  about  1575.  Flaminio  Vacca  has  left  the 
following  account  of  the  find  :  "  Outside  the  Porta  Portese, 
at  a  place  called  '  affoga  F  Asino,'  in  a  cane-field  near  the 
Tiber,  many  statues  of  eminent  personages  were  dug  out, 
together  with  the  pedestals  on  which  their  names  were  in- 
scribed, and  with  columns  30  palms  long.  These  were  sawn 
into  slabs  and  made  use  of  in  the  Cappella  Gregoriana  at 


106      THE  SACRED   GROVE   OF  THE  ARVALES. 

St.  Peter's  ;  the  statues  were  dispersed  among  many  collectors 
in  Rome."  Traces  of  earlier  excavations  have,  however,  been 
detected  in  a  fly-leaf  from  the  pocket-book  of  Salvestro 
Peruzzi  (f  1573),  son  of  Baldassarre  (f  1536),  which  is  now 
preserved  in  the  Galleria  degli  Uffizi,  Florence.  Salvestro 
gives  the  sketch  of  a  graceful  little  edifice  with  an  apse 
and  a  pronaos,  and  says  that  it  contained  nine  statues  of 
emperors  wearing  the  badge  of  the  Order,  viz.,  the  "  corona 
spicea,"  and  nine  pedestals  with  dedicatory  inscriptions 
ending  with  the  words  FRATRI  ARVALI.  Salvestro's  account 
is  not  accurate,  unless  two  pedestals  were  destroyed  or  burnt 


The  head  of  Augustus  as  Frater  Arvalis. 

into  lime  at  once  ;  contemporary  epigraphists  mention  only 
seven  dedications  inscribed  with  the  names  of  Hadrian, 
Antoninus  Pius,  M.  Aurelius,  L.  Verus,  Septimius  Severus, 
Caracalla,  and  Gordianus.1  The  fact  that  all  the  predeces- 

i  Corpus  Inscr.  vol.  vi.  n.  968,  1000,  1012,  1021,  1026,  1053,  1093. 


THE  SACRED   GROVE   OF  THE  ARVALES       107 


The  west  wing  of  Michelangelo's  cloisters. 

sors  of  Hadrian  are  missing,  while  the  set  from  Hadrian  to 
Gordian  III.  is  almost  complete,  shows  that  the  sacred 
grove,  or  at  least  the  CaBsareum,  must  have  undergone  at 
the  beginning  of  the  second  century  the  same  fate  by  which 
the  House  of  the  Vestals  was  destroyed  at  the  time  of  Sep- 
timius  Severus.  The  records  of  the  Vestales  Maximse  dis- 
covered in  that  house  begin  with  the  reconstruction  by  Julia 
Domna,  and  continue  almost  without  a  break  to  the  sup- 
pression of  the  Order  in  382.  The  only  iconographic  relic 
of  earlier  days  pertaining  to  the  Augusteum  of  the  Arvales 
is  the  marble  head  of  Augustus  himself,  formerly  in  the 
Villa  Mattei  and  now  in  the  Sala  dei  Busti  of  the  Vatican 
Museum  (n.  274),  which  represents  the  emperor  at  a  ripe 
age,  with  a  garland  of  ears  of  wheat,  the  symbol  of  the 
fraternity  to  which  he  belonged.  I  shall  not  follow  in 
detail  the  history  of  subsequent  discoveries  from  the  time 


108      THE   SACRED   GROVE   OF  THE  ARVALES. 

of  Salvestro  Peruzzi  to  the  present  day,  because  it  has 
already  been  given  by  de  Rossi  and  Henzen.1  These  dis- 
coveries were  splendidly  brought  to  a  close  in  1868—1871 
by  Dr.  Wilhelm  Henzen,  then  director  of  the  German 
Archaeological  Institute,  when  nearly  one  thousand  lines  of 
the  Acta,  with  other  inscriptions  and  architectural  remains 
of  the  temple  and  other  edifices,  were  brought  to  light,  in' 
the  "  Vigna  Ceccarelli  di  Sopra,"  near  the  railway  station 
of  La  Magliana.  The  Acta,  purchased  by  the  Italian  gov- 
ernment in  1873,  have  been  admirably  rearranged  in  chro- 
nological order  by  Dr.  Dante  Vaglieri  in  two  of  the  old 
Cistercian  "  Hermitages  "  on  the  west  wing  of  Michel- 
angelo's cloisters  in  the  Baths  of  Diocletian.  (See  p.  107.) 
From  these  records  we  learn  the  following'  details.  The 

<3 

oldest  fragment  yet  found  dates  from  A.  D.  14,  the  last  of 
Augustus,  the  first  of  Tiberius.  The  calendar  of  the  bro- 
therhood dates  also  from  the  same  epoch.  We  infer  from 
these  facts  that  the  system  of  engraving  the  minutes  of 
the  proceedings  on  marble  must  have  been  taken  up  soon 
after  the  reform  of  the  Order  accomplished  by  Augustus 
after  his  election  to  the  pontificate  in  B.  c.  2. 

The  Arvales,  the  only  Roman  religious  institution  in 
which  the  name  of  "  brothers  "  occurs,  were  twelve,  double 
the  number  of  the  Vestals  ;  but  absence  from  town,  illness, 
and  other  circumstances  so  thinned  their  ranks  that  the 
average  number  of  members  attending  one  meeting  is  five. 
The  fullest  meeting  recorded  in  the  space  of  two  hundred 
years  is  that  of  October  12,  59,  when  twelve  members  met 
to  offer  a  sacrifice  for  the  "  imperium  "  of  Nero. 

The  seats  were  not  hereditary,  even  in  the  case  of  impe- 
rial personages.  The  place  of  a  private  nobleman,  L. 


1  De  Rossi,  "  Vicende  degli  atti  Arvalici,"  in  Annali  Institute,  1858  ;  Henzen, 
A  eta  Fratrum  Arvalium,  Berlin,  Reimer,  1874. 


THE  SACRED   GROVE   OF  THE  ARVALES.      109 

lius  Paullus,  was  given  in  December,  A.  D.  13,  or  January, 
14,  to  Drusus  Caesar,  son  of  Tiberius  ;  and  that  of  his 
grandson,  Drusus  the  younger,  again  to  a  private  individual, 
P.  Memmius  Regulus,  A.  D.  38. 

The  president  (magister)  of  the  fraternity  was  elected 
on  the  second  day  of  the  feast  of  the  Dea  Dia,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  May,  and  his  tenure  of  office  lasted  for  a  year.  It 
was  his  duty  to  entertain  his  colleagues  at  dinner  in  his  own 
house,  during  the  same  May  celebrations  ;  but  if  the  house 

FERIAFETSVPPLLCAIIONES 

AD-OMN  lAiPVLVIN  ARIA. 


Two  specimens  of  the  Aeta  Arvalium  of  the  first  and  third  centuries. 

was  too  small  or  otherwise  unfit  for  the  reception  of  the 
noble  guests  and  their  attendants,  the  tables  were  set  up 
elsewhere,  —  for  instance,  in  the  Augusteum  (A.  D.  218). 
At  all  events,  when  we  hear  of  the  brothers  banqueting  at 
such  and  such  a  house,  we  need  not  be  afraid  that  the  host 
had  to  meet  the  expense  of  the  proceedings  ;  he  simply 
supervised  the  arrangements.  These  banquets  were  costly 
enough  ;  one  hundred  denarii  a  seat.1  The  minutes  of  the 
year  were  engraved  on  the  marble  stylobate  of  the  temple, 

1  About  seventy  shillings,  or  seventeen  dollars. 


110      THE  SACRED    GROVE   OF  THE  ARVALES. 

proceeding  from  left  to  right  at  the  end  of  each  "  magis- 
terium  "  or  presidency,  viz.,  after  the  17th  of  December. 
The  following  incident  shows  that  they  did  not  tarry  long 
in  transferring  the  minutes  from  their  books  to  the  marble 
panels  of  the  stylobate.  The  Emperor  Vitellius  ended  his 
presidency  on  December  17  of  the  year  69,  and  was  mur- 
dered before  the  end  of  the  month.  Now  as  his  name  is 
erased  from  the  minutes  in  consequence  of  the  "  memorise 
damnatio  "  pronounced  by  the  Senate  soon  after  his  death, 
it  is  evident  that  they  must  have  been  inscribed  between 
the  17th  and  the  31st. 

Comparing  the  chronology  of  the  Acta  with  the  precise 
spot  in  which  they  have  been  found,  Professor  Henzen  has 
been  able  to  follow  the  progress  of  their  incision  on  the 
various  marble  surfaces  available  in  the  grove.  As  I  have 
said  above,  advantage  was  taken  at  the  beginning  of  the 
base  of  the  temple,  with  little  or  no  concern  for  space, 
devoting  probably  each  marble  panel  to  the  records  of  one 
year ;  no  matter  whether  they  covered  the  whole  space  or 
left  a  blank.  The  writing  surface  on  the  base  of  the  tem- 
ple lasted  until  the  time  of  Antoninus  Pius.  Later  on,  the 
blanks  were  filled  up  with  no  respect  to  chronology,  so  that 
the  records  of  the  year  213  were  engraved  at  the  foot  of 
the  panel  of  A.  D.  155,  those  of  the  year  219  at  the  foot 
of  the  panel  of  A.  D.  90,  etc.  Fortunately  the  grove  con- 
tained other  marble  edifices,  like  the  Csesareum,  where  the 
images  of  deified  emperors  were  kept  and  worshipped  ;  the 
Tetrastylum,  where  meetings  were  held  and  banquets  cele- 
brated ;  and  a  Circus,  where  races  were  run  on  the  second 
day  of  the  May  festival.  These  edifices,  the  Caesareum  and 
the  Tetrastylum  at  least,  were  resorted  to  for  the  engraving 
of  the  Acta;  those  of  A.  D.  218  were  actually  written  on  a 
table  or  "  mensa,"  and  those  of  220  on  a  marble  chair  or 
«  cathedra." 


THE  SACRED    GROVE   OF  THE  ARVALES.      Ill 

The  dispersion  of  these  valuable  documents  all  over  the 
City  and  the  Campagna  is  really  astonishing.  Fragments, 
nay,  whole  panels,  have  been  found  at  S.  Prisca  and  at  S. 
Sabina  on  the  Aventine,  in  the  Villa  Negroni-Massimo  on 
the  Esquiline,  in  the  foundations  of  the  apse  and  sacristy 
of  St.  Peter's,  in  the  pavement  of  St.  Paul's,  in  the  Villa 


The  church  of  S.  Marina 


Wolkonsky,  in  the  catacombs  of  Hippolytus  and  Callixtus, 
in  the  bed  of  the  Tiber.  This  scattering  of  the  Arvalian 
marbles  is  manifestly  connected  with  the  great  religious 
evolution  of  the  fourth  century  ;  in  fact,  we  know  that 
when  the  doctrines  of  Christ  began  to  gain  ground  in  the 
outskirts  of  the  metropolis,  and  in  the  farm  lands  of  the 
Campagna,  the  grove  of  the  Arvales,  as  the  oldest  suburban 
centre  of  superstition,  became  one  of  the  main  points  of 
attack.  The  evangelization  of  the  country,  however,  had  to 
overcome  far  greater  obstacles  than  that  of  the  City.  The 
Latin  peasants  were  —  and  are  still  —  an  ignorant  race, 
tenacious  of  old  habits  and  traditions.  They  clung  to  the 
religion  of  their  fathers  because  it  pleased  them  to  know 


112      THE  SACRED   GROVE    OF  THE  AR VALES. 

and  to  feel  that  their  interests  were  intrusted  to  the  never 
failing  care  of  local  spirits,  their  own  personal  friends  as  it 
were,  and  because  they  saw  in  the  commonest  phenomena 
of  nature  the  manifestation  of  a  superior  power.  Springs, 
rivers,  caves,  trees,  forests,  hills,  and  mountains  all  appeared 
to  those  simple  minds  fraught  with  life,  and  visible  embodi- 
ments of  divine  agents.  They  divided  these  salutary  and 
beneficent  beings  into  two  classes  :  one  comprising  the  higher 
gods  of  nature,  Apollo,  Diana,  Silvanus,  Pan,  etc. ;  the  other 
restricted  to  local  spirits,  nymphs,  fauns,  and  the  "genii 
loci."  The  belief  in  this  last  category  dates  from  an  ear- 
lier stage  than  the  conception  of  deities  with  wide  pro- 
vinces and  multiple  functions.  The  primitive  settlers  in 
the  woodlands  of  Latium  divinized  every  hill,  or  tree,  or 
brook,  more  distinct  personality  being  attributed  to  the 
nymphs,  because  the  abundance  or  scarcity  of  water  was 
more  important  than  anything  else  in  nature,  to  the  herds- 
men and  to  the  laborers  of  the  soil.  The  various  groups 
of  nymphs  had  their  special  haunts  and  abodes  in  watery 
glades,  in  groves,  among  the  frowning  crags,  or  in  the 
dark  recesses  of  grottoes,  where  sacrifices  were  offered  to 
them  of  goats,  lambs,  milk,  and  oil,  but  never  of  wine. 
Some  of  these  "  nymphsea  "  were  private,  and  reserved  to 
the  peasants  of  one  single  farm ;  others  public,  the  gather- 
ing-place of  a  wide  neighborhood.  These  were  selected  on 
certain  days  of  the  year  for  the  celebration  of  joyful  pro- 
cessions and  of  rural  sports,  and  for  thanksgiving  after  the 
successful  close  of  harvesting,  sheep-shearing,  of  the  vintage, 
and  so  on.  For  this  purpose  special  calendars  or  almanacs 
were  made  up  for  the  use  of  the  peasantry  and  set  up  at 
the  crossings  of  country  roads.  Such  is  the  so-called 
"  Menologium  Rusticum,"  formerly  in  the  possession  of 
Mgr.  Colocci,  and  now  in  the  National  Museum  at  Naples. 


THE  SACRED   GROVE   OF  THE  AR VALES.      113 

This  rustic  almanac  contains  as  many  columns  as  there 
are  months  in  the  year,  each  marked  by  the  corresponding- 
signs  of  the  Zodiac.  Then  follow  the  names  of  the  months, 
the  number  of  their  days,  the  determination  of  the  nones 


The  campanile  of  Castel  S.  Pietro  above  Palestrina  struck  by 
lightning. 

(and  indirectly  of  the  ides,  which  fell  eight  days  after),  the 
length  of  days  and  nights,  the  name  of  the  sign  through 
which  the  sun  passes,  and  the  god  under  whose  care  the 
month  was  placed.  For  instance  :  — 

"  The  month  of  May.    Thirty-one  days.     The  nones  fall 
on  the  7th.     Length  of  day  fourteen  and  a  half  hours,  of 


114      THE  SACRED   GROVE   OF  THE  ARVALES. 

night  nine  and  a  half.  The  sun  enters  into  the  constella- 
tion of  Taurus.  The  month  is  under  the  protection  of 
Apollo." 

The  various  agricultural  operations  of  the  month  of  May 
are  subsequently  specified,  such  as  the  winnowing  of  the 
cornfields,  the  shearing  of  sheep,  the  washing  of  wool, 
the  breaking  of  oxen,  etc.  The  column  ends  with  the  reli- 
gious duties  to  be  performed  in  May,  viz.,  the  lustration  of 
the  crops,  and  certain  sacrifices  to  Mercury  and  Flora. 

It  is  easy  to  conceive  what  obstacles  the  preachers  of  the 
gospel  must  have  found  in  these  deeply  rooted  superstitions 
in  consequence  of  which  the  Campagna  remained  essentially 
pagan  long  after  the  gods  had  been  expelled  from  their 
temples  in  the  City.  The  study  of  local  traditions,  of  folk- 
lore, of  the  origin  of  many  suburban  sanctuaries  and 
shrines,  would  help  us  greatly  to  make  out  how  the  religious 
transformation  of  the  Campagna  was  gently  brought  about. 
To  facilitate  it  great  care  was  taken  to  assimilate  practices 
which  were  not  absolutely  objectionable,  —  for  instance,  the 
Ambarvalia,  which  were  transformed  into  the  Rogations,  — 
and  to  substitute  parallel  figures  with  an  affinity  of  names  to 
the  gods  of  rivers,  of  springs,  of  mountains,  and  of  forests. 
Thus  the  places  of  Apollo  and  Silvanus  were  taken  by  St. 
Silvester,  on  the  forest-clad  peaks  of  Soracte,  of  the  Monte 
Compatri,  of  the  Monte  Artemisio,  and  of  the  Vulturella ; 
S.  Marina  or  S.  Marinella  became  the  protector  of  mariners 
at  Ardea  (see  p.  Ill),  at  Ostia,  and  at  Punicum  ;  St.  George 
became  the  driver  away  of  plague-spreading  dragons ;  while 
the  points  struck  by  lightning,  whether  of  church  towers  or 
of  mountains,  were  consecrated  to  Michael  the  Archangel. 

The  picturesque  shrines  which  the  explorer  of  the  Cam- 
pagna and  of  the  Sabine  and  Volscian  districts  meets  at  the 
crossings  of  roads  and  lanes  have  not  changed  their  site 


THE  SACRED   GROVE   OF  THE  AR VALES.      115 


A  wayside  shrine. 

or  purpose  ;  only  the  crescent  which  once  shone  on  the 
forehead  of  Diana  the  huntress  is  now  trodden  by  the  feet 
of  the  Virgin  Mary,  who  also  appears  crushing  the  head 
of  the  snake  once  sacred  to  Juno  Lanuvina ;  but  the  wild 
flowers  still  perfume  with  their  delicious  scent  the  "  icon- 
etta,"  as  the  shrine  is  still  called  in  the  Byzantine  fashion 
among  our  peasantry  (small  ei/coj*>),  and  the  sweet  oil,  in- 
stead of  being  poured  over  the  altar,  burns  before  the  image 
of  the  Mother  of  God  in  quaint  little  lamps.  The  month  of 
May,  once  sacred  to  the  Dea  Dia,  has  become  the  month  of 
Mary. 

We  are  not  acquainted  with  the  particulars  of  the  "  Chris- 


116      THE  SACRED   GROVE   OF  THE  ARVALES. 

tianization  "  of  the  sacred  grove  of  the  Arvales,  the  re- 
cords of  the  brotherhood  ending  with  the  reign  of  Gordian 
III.  (about  238  A.  D.).  The  portrait  statue  of  the  same 
emperor  is  the  last,  chronologically  speaking,  discovered 
among  the  ruins  of  the  Csesareum.  We  may  assume, 
therefore,  that  the  institution,  ten  centuries  old  at  the  time 
of  Gordian  III.,  died  of  sheer  decrepitude  towards  the 
middle  of  the  third  century,  when  the  Christians  appear  on 
the  spot,  or  rather  under  it,  honeycombing  the  hill  with 
the  winding  galleries  of  their  cemetery  of  Generosa. 

I  have  already  spoken  of  these  small  but  interesting  cat- 
acombs in  chapter  vii.  of  "  Pagan  and  Christian  Rome  " 
(p.  332).  The  name  of  Generosa  pertaining  to  them  indi- 
cates that  the  ground  under  which  they  ramify,  or  where 
their  entrance  was,  belonged  to  a  lady  of  that  name. 
Without  assuming  that  this  lady  Generosa  had  purchased 
part  of  the  old  Arvalian  property,  it  may  be  simply  a  case 
of  an  enclave  within  the  boundaries  of  the  grove.  And, 
moreover,  the  first  Christians,  the  first  illustrious  victims  of 
the  persecution  of  Diocletian,  were  not  laid  to  rest  in  crypts 
purposely  cut  out  of  the  rock,  but  in  common  sand-pits,  to 
which  entrance  was  gained  from  the  side  of  Generosa's  farm. 

One  of  the  curiosities  of  this  underground  cemetery  is 
a  painting  of  Christ  in  the  character  of  the  Good  Shepherd, 
on  the  edge  of  whose  tunic  we  see  twice  the  sign  rtf,  called 
"  crux  gammata  "  because  it  is  formed  by  the  grouping  of 
four  f  (gamma).  The  sign  never  appears  in  the  catacombs 
so  long  as  that  of  the  anchor  remains  in  favor.  Its  first 
representation  is  to  be  found,  if  I  remember  right,  in  the 
celebrated  painting  of  Diogenes  the  fossor  of  the  crypts  of 
Domitilla,  whose  tunic  is  embroidered  with  the  mystic  de- 
vice, instead  of  the  usual  "  calliculae  "  and  "  clavi."  Now 
as  the  rt  is  the  primitive  Asiatic  symbol  of  happiness,  the 


THE  SACRED   GROVE   OF  THE  ARVALES.      117 

"  svastika "  of  the  Brahmins  and  Buddhists,  certain  writ- 
ers have  attempted  to  find  in  it  a  link  between  Buddha 
and  Christ,  between  the  Indian  religion  and  the  gospel. 
Enough  to  observe  that  the  svastika,  as  a  mere  ornamental 
combination  of  lines,  appears  in  prehistoric  pottery  of  the 
a3neolithic  period,  in  the  coins  of  Gaza,  Corinth,  and  Syra- 
cuse, in  the  fibula  of  CaBre,  in  the  so-called  Samnitic  tomb 
at  Capua,  in  Roman  mosaic  pavements,,  etc. 

Among  the  many  symbols  of  the  cross  adopted  by  the 


The  Good  Shepherd  with  the  svastika. 


faithful  in  the  age  of  persecutions,  with  which  they  could 
mark  the  grave  of  the  dear  ones  without  betraying  the 
secret  of  their  faith,  there  was  the  Phrenician  letter  tern. 


118      THE  SACRED   GROVE    OF  THE  AR VALES. 

From  the  tan,  +,  to  the  crux  gammata,  ft,  the  transition  is 
hardly  perceptible. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  while  these  things  were  going 
on  underground  in  the  cemetery  of  Generosa,  the  grove  of 
the  Arvales,  the  temple,  the  Csesareum,  the  Tetrastylum, 
were  kept  in  good  repair  by  the  state,  although  practically 
abandoned  by  the  brotherhood.  Possibly  the  action  of 
the  state  was  limited  to  preventing  the  neighbors  from 
trespassing  over  the  boundary  line  of  the  grove  and  dam- 
aging its  buildings  and  stealing  away  their  marble  decora- 
tions. Certainly  not  the  smallest  fragment  of  the  Acta 
has  been  found  used  by  the  Christians  in  the  adjoining 
catacombs.  But  granted  that  men  did  not  lend  a  helping 
hand  to  the  slow  destructive  powers  of  nature,  we  can  easily 
imagine  what  the  state  of  the  place  was  after  a  century  and 
a  half  of  neglect,  when  it  was  given  up  altogether  to  Pope 
Damasus  as  Church  property.  If  a  fig-tree  could  have 
found  time  to  set  root  and  grow  on  the  pediment  of  the 
temple  A.  D.  183,  as  described  in  the  minutes  of  that  year, 
at  the  time  of  the  greatest  prosperity  of  the  Order,  we  may 
imagine  what  masses  of  arborescent  vegetation  must  have 
covered  the  roof  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  century.  The 
grove,  also,  must  have  shown  traces  of  neglect,  exposed  as 
it  was  to  the  fury  of  storms,  so  violent  in  this  district  be- 
tween Rome  and  the  sea  that  the  minutes  mention  over 
and  over  again  trees  struck  by  lightning  and  felled  to  the 
ground.  I  am  afraid  that  it  also  gave  shelter  to  outlaws, 
as  shown  by  the  wholesale  slaughter  of  Julius  Timotheus, 
schoolmaster,  and  seven  of  his  pupils,  made  by  a  gang  of 
highwaymen  on  the  very  edge  of  the  grove,  as  described 
in  "  Ancient  Rome,"  p.  212. 

It  seems  as  if  Pope  Damasus  had  watched  with  impa- 
tience the  moment  he  could  take  legal  possession  of  the 


THE  SACRED   GROVE   OF   THE  AR VALES.      119 

place,  and  build  aboveground  and  on  the  highest  and  most 
conspicuous  point  a  memorial  chapel,  sanctis  martyribus 
simplicio  FO.USTINO  VIATRICH,  whose  graves  had  made  the 
catacombs  of  Generosa  a  favorite  place  of  pilgrimage. 
The  oldest  dated  epitaph  found  within  this  chapel  of  Da- 
masus  belongs  to  A.  D.  382,  the  very  year  in  which  the  wor- 
ship of  the  gods  was  officially  abolished  by  Gratian,  and  the 
property  of  temples  confiscated  or  transferred  to  the  Church. 
The  grove  of  the  Arvales  was  not  the  only  one  which 
brought  back  to  the  Romans  of  the  late  Empire  the  memory 
of  the  primitive  state  of  their  soil  and  of  the  veneration 
which  their  ancestors  professed  towards  the  sylvan  gods. 
Rome  had  been  founded  in  a  well-wooded  country,  each  of 
the  seven  hills  being  distinguished  by  a  special  growth  of 
trees  from  which  they  were  sometimes  named.  A  forest 
of  laurels  grew  on  the  Aventine  the  recollection  of  which 
lasted  to  the  end  of  the  Empire  in  the  streets  named  "  Lau- 
retum  maius  "  and  "  Lauretum  minus  "  respectively.  The 
valley  between  the  Aventine,  and  the  Palatine  is  said  to 
have  derived  the  name  of  Murtia  from  the  myrtle  grove 
which  surrounded  the  shrine  of  Venus  Murtea.1  The  Cae- 
lian,  likewise,  was  called  Querquetulanus  from  its  forest  of 
oaks  (quercioli) ;  the  Oppian,  Fagutalis  from  its  forest  of 
beeches;  the  Viminal  from  its  reeds  (vimina) ;  the  Campus 
Codetanus  from  its  Eqidsetum  arvense  (codeta) ;  the  Corneta 
from  its  cornelian  trees,  etc.  With  the  growth  of  the  City 
many  of  these  landmarks  disappeared,  their  memory  being 
perpetuated  by  a  cluster  of  trees  which  were  held  in  great 
veneration,  and  to  which  sacrifices  were  offered.  There  is  a 
large  map  of  these  sacred  groves,  published  by  Agretti  and 
Visconti  in  1838,2  and  a  good  account  of  them  is  to  be 

1  Compare,  however,  Becker,  Topographic,  p.  467,  n.  971. 

2  Pianta  dell'  antica  citta  di  Roma  con  i  suoi  boschi  sacri,  Roma,  1838. 


120      THE  SACRED   GROVE   OF  THE  AR VALES. 

found  in  Brocchi's  "  Stato  fisico  del  Suolo  di  Roma,"  p.  24 
sq.  Agretti  and  Visconti  have  marked  the  site  of  forty- 
four  groves,  but  the  existence  of  some  of  them  is  not  suffi- 
ciently authenticated.  At  the  end  of  the  Empire  probably 
there  were  only  twenty  or  twenty-five  left. 

Such  being  the  sylvan  nature  of  the  Roman  soil,  no 
wonder  that  one  of  the  first  gods  to  be  worshipped  by  the 
semi-savage  inhabitants  of  the  Septimontium  should  be 
Faun,  whose  prophetic  warnings  and  mysterious  voice  they 
imagined  were  heard  from  the  recesses  of  the  forests.  The 
Bona  Dea,  the  supposed  bride  of  Faun,  had  also  a  share  in 
the  divine  honors,  and  was  herself  called  Fauna.  Silvanus, 
however,  was  the  special  protector  of  woods  and  trees,  espe- 
cially of  pines  and  cypresses  ;  hence  his  name  of  Silvanus 
dendrophorus,  the  "  bearer  of  a  tree."  Woods  sacred  to 
the  deity  were  called  "  luci "  in  opposition  to  "  silvae  "  or 
"  nemora,"  which  names  designate  an  ordinary  forest. 

It  is  remarkable,  indeed,  that  one  of  these  luci  should 
have  survived  through  the  events  of  centuries,  and  should  still 
be  flourishing,  still  venerated,  still  called  by  its  classic  name 
of  "  Bosco  Sacro."  I  allude  to  the  cluster  of  fine  ilexes  on 
the  west  side  of  the  valley  della  Caffarella,  near  the  so-called 
grotto  of  the  "  ninfa  Egeria  "  and  the  church  of  S.  Urbano. 
Inscriptions  discovered  in  that  neighborhood1  show  that 
these  lands  once  belonged  to  Annia  Regilla,  wife  of  Herodes 
Atticus  ;  that  after  her  death  in  childbirth  the  lands  were 
consecrated  to  the  gods ;  that  they  contained  wheat-fields, 
vineyards,  olive  groves,  pastures,  a  village  named  Triopium, 
a  temple  dedicated  to  Faustina  under  the  title  of  New  Ceres, 
a  burial  plot  placed  under  the  protection  of  Minerva  and 
Nemesis,  and  lastly  a  grove  sacred  to  the  memory  of  Annia 

1  Ennio  Quirino  Visconti,  Iscrizioni  greche  Triopee,  ora  Borghesiane,  Rome, 
1794.     See  Bibliography  in  Pagan  and  Christian  Rome,  p.  288. 


THE  SACRED   GROVE   OF  THE  ARVALE8.      121 


The  sacred  grove  of  Annia  RegSlla. 

Regilla.  The  remains  of  the  Triopium  are  to  be  seen 
in  the  Vigna  Grand i ;  the  family  tomb  is  represented  by 
the  exquisite  little  building  known  as  the  "  tempio  del  Dio 
Redicolo,"  the  temple  of  Ceres  and  Faustina  by  the  church 
of  S.  Urbano.  As  regards  the  sacred  grove,  there  is  no 
doubt  that  the  present  trees  continue  the  tradition  and  live 
on  the  very  spot  sacred  to  the  memory  of  Annia  Regilla, 
"  cuius  hsec  prsedia  fuerunt." 

Modern  Romans,  alas,  have  not  inherited  from  their 
ancestors  the  feeling  of  respect  for  the  sylvan  gods.  I  do 
not  belong  to  the  party  which  has  taken  up  the  habit  of 
condemning  whatever  has  been  done  in  Rome  since  1870 ; 
far  from  it.  I  believe,  and  I  am  proud  to  assert,  that  the 
little  we  have  lost  is  nothing  in  comparison  with  what  we 
have  gained  in  health,  in  cleanliness,  in  comfort,  in  pur- 
poses of  life,  in  self-respect.  The  only  point  of  regret  is  the 
one  concerning  the  green,  the  shade  and  the  vegetation, 
against  which  rulers  and  ruled,  magistrates  and  citizens, 
clergy  and  laity  seemed  at  one  time  to  have  developed  an 


122      THE  SACRED   GROVE   OF  THE  AR VALES. 

equal  share  of  contempt,  if  not  of  hatred.  When  the  beau- 
tiful Villa  Corsini  was  purchased  by  the  City  in  1876  to  be 
turned  into  a  public  park,  the  splendid  old  ilexes  lining  the 
crest  of  the  hill  were  cut  down  under  the  plea  that  they  ob- 
structed the  view.  When  a  considerable  part  of  the  Monti 
Parioli  was  likewise  purchased  in  1887  for  the  laying  out 
of  the  great  Parco  Margherita  between  the  Via  Flaminia 
and  the  Salaria,  the  oaks  and  the  ilexes  of  the  Villa  Bosio 
were  sold  to  a  charcoal-burner.  When  a  government  dele- 
gate took  possession  of  the  administration  of  the  City  in 
1892,  he  inaugurated  the  restoration  of  the  finance  depart- 
ment by  cutting  down  the  small  garden  of  the  Piazza 
Mastai,  the  keeping  of  which  involved  an  expense  of  nearly 
three  pounds  a  year !  Another  picturesque  corner  of  the 
Parco  Margherita,  the  "  Sassi  di  S.  Giuliano,"  —  weather- 
stained  crags  plunging  into  the  Tiber  a  little  above  the 
Ponte  Molle,  —  has  just  been  stripped  of  its  crown  of  ever- 
greens to  allow  a  private  contractor  to  quarry  stone  ;  and 
the  ragged  outline  of  the  rocks  has  been  cut  and  smoothed 
to  an  angle  of  45°,  like  a  railway  embankment.  With  such 
examples  coming  from  official  quarters,  no  wonder  that 
owners  of  private  villas  should  have  sold  them  to  the  first 
comer  who  offered  money  enough  to  satisfy  their  greed.  It 
is  true  that  the  sale  and  the  destruction  of  the  historic 
Roman  villas  has  brought  luck  to  none  ;  sellers  as  well  as 
purchasers  are  equally  bankrupt ;  but  this  well-earned  retri- 
bution does  not  give  us  back  what  we  have  lost.  Let  me 

O 

say,  however,  that  a  decided  change  for  the  better  has  taken 
place  of  late  in  this  branch  of  public  administration.  Over 
ten  thousand  trees  are  planted  every  year  in  Rome  and  the 
suburbs,  and  if  the  "Arbor  day"  shall  be  celebrated  for 
some  years  to  come  with  equal  zeal,  the  City  will  be  framed 
again  in  green  as  in  the  palmy  days  of  its  history. 


THE  SACRED   GROVE   OF  THE   ARVALES.      123 

I  must  at  the  same  time  remark  that  the  feeling  of  re- 
spect for  single  trees,  like  the  cornelian  of  the  steps  of 
Cacus,  the  fig-tree  of  the  Comitium,  the  chamaerops  of  the 


A  picturesque  corner  in  the  new  Passeggiata  del  Gianicolo. 

Capitol,  the  Diospyros  Lotus  of  the  Vulcanal,  the  olive-tree 
and  the  vine  of  the  Forum,  has  survived  through  the  middle 
ages,  and  is  still  alive  in  Rome.  In  the  middle  ages  whole 
quarters  of  the  City  were  named  from  single  trees  conspicu- 
ous in  the  wilderness  of  the  ruins.  Such  is  the  origin  of 
the  name  of  the  ninth  ward,  the  "  Rione  della  Pigna  "  (pine- 
tree),  and  also  of  the  streets  and  squares  called  del  Fico, 
della  Gensola,  dell'  Olmo,  dell'  Arancio,  del  Lauro,  etc.  A 
lemon-tree  is  shown  in  the  garden  of  S.  Sabina  planted  by 
St.  Dominic  himself  when  he  took  possession  of  the  adjoin- 
ing convent  at  the  time  of  Pope  Honorius  III.  (1216-1227). 
In  the  garden  of  S.  Onofrio,  which  now  forms  part  of  the 


124      THE  SACRED   GROVE   OF  THE  ARVALES. 

Passeggiata  del  Gianicolo,  stands  Tasso's  venerable  oak, 
under  the  shade  of  which  the  poet  used  to  retire  for  medi- 
tation and  study.  It  was  partly  blown  down  by  the  hurri- 
cane of  October,  1842,  but  several  branches  have  since 
sprouted  out  of  the  trunk.  I  have  in  my  collection  of 
prints  a  spirited  etching  by  Strutt,  representing  the  oak 
before  its  fall.  The  same  fate  befell  in  1886  Michelangelo's 
cypresses  in  the  garden  of  la  Certosa,  two  out  of  four  being 
destroyed,  and  the  others  mutilated.  (See  page  107.) 

Perhaps  the  most  touching  instance  of  care  and  respect 
towards  old  trees  is  to  be  found  in  the  Alban  hills,  in  the 
avenue  which  leads  from  Albano  to  Castel  Gandolfo,  known 
by  the  name  of  "  Galleria  di  Sotto."  Wherever  one  of  the 
old  giants  —  ilexes,  oaks,  or  elms  —  planted  by  Sixtus  V.  at 
the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century  shows  signs  of  decrepi- 
tude and  begins  to  lean  and  bend  as  if  asking  for  help  and 
support,  its  branches  and  its  trunk  are  propped  by  means  of 
columns  of  masonry.  The  person  who  shows  such  delicate 
feelings  towards  the  noble  trees  of  Castel  Gandolfo  is  Pope 
Leo  XIII.,  himself  a  splendid  specimen  of  vitality  at  an 
age  which  it  is  seldom  given  to  mankind  to  reach. 

I  have  spoken  up  to  the  present  time  of  sylvan  gods  and 
goddesses  who  were  beneficial  to  mankind.  Let  us  now 
turn  our  attention  to  the  evil  geniuses,  whose  pernicious 
influence  those  simple  dwellers  on  the  Palatine  hill  sought 
to  avert,  and  whose  wrath  they  strove  to  appease,  by  special 
propitiations. 

The  evil  genius  was  symbolized  amongst  the  Eastern  na- 
tions, especially  amongst  the  Chaldeans,  by  the  serpent ; 
and  the  Bible  represents  the  first  and  bitterest  enemy  of 
mankind  under  the  same  form.  Bossuet,  in  his  "  Elevations 
a  Dieu,"  speaking  of  the  fall  of  man,  remarks  :  "  Pourquoi 
il  [Dieu]  determina  cet  ange  superbe  a  paraitre  sous  cette 


THE  SACRED   GROVE   OF  THE  AR VALES.      125 

forme,  plutot  que  sous  une  autre  ;  quoiqu'il  ne  soit  pas  neces- 
saire  de  le  savoir,  1'Ecriture  nous  1'insinue,  en  disant  que  le 
serpent  etait  le  plus  fin  des  animaux ;  c'est  a  dire  celui  qui 
.  .  .  representait  mieux  le  demon  dans  sa  malice,  dans  ses 
embuches,  et  ensuite  dans  son  supplice."  Step  by  step  the 
serpent  conquered  divine  honors.  In  Egypt  it  was  made 
to  personify  the  principle  of  evil  conquered  by  Osiris.  In 
the  paintings  or  in  the  hieroglyphic  papyri  of  the  earliest 
dynasties  the  symbol  of  two  serpents  springing  at  each  other 
is  often  seen,  one  of  which  seems  to  snap  at  a  ball  which 
the  other  holds  in  its  mouth  :  an  evident  allusion  to  the 


Tasso's  oak  by  S.  Onofrio. 

dualism  in  Eastern  religions.  At  a  later  period  the  theo- 
gonic  condition  of  the  serpent  improved,  and  it  became  ulti- 
mately a  symbol  of  the  Sun  and  of  Life.  In  the  belief  of 

1  "  Though  it  is  not  necessary  for  us  to  know  why  He  decreed  that  that 
proud  angel  should  appear  in  this  shape,  rather  than  in  another,  the  Scriptures 
hint  at  an  explanation  in  saying  that  the  serpent  was  the  most  subtle  of  all  ani- 
mals .  .  .  and  therefore  the  one  that  best  represented  the  devil  in  his  malice, 
in  his  treacheries,  and  finally  in  his  punishment."  , 


126      THE  SACRED   GROVE    OF  THE  ARVALES. 

Latin  aborigines,  long  before  the  foundation  of  Rome,  the 
serpent  symbolized  the  "genius  loci,"  and  as  the  oldest 
Latin  gods  were  worshipped  through  their  respective  gen- 
iuses l  the  serpent  became  the  living  symbol  of  some  of  them, 


The  young  Hercules  strangling  the  serpent. 

—  of  ^Esculapius,  the  god  of  medicine  ;  of  Minerva,  the  god- 
dess of  wisdom ;  of  Mercury,  the  god  of  subtleness  ;  and, 
above  all,  of  the  Juno  called  Lanuvina  from  Lanuvium,  the 
seat  of  her  worship.  The  sacred  serpents  of  Lanuvium  are 
still  alive,  and  I  am  sure  it  will  interest  my  reader  to  know 
some  curious  details  collected  on  this  point  by  Professor 
Tommasetti,  a  great  explorer  of  the  Roman  Campagna.2 

1  The  Genius  Jovis,  the  Genius  Junonis  Sospitse,  the  Genius  Dese  Diae,  etc. 

2  "  Nuove  ricerche  sulla  spiaggia  latina,"  iu  Atti  Pontif.  Accad.  di  Archeolo- 
gia,  26  Nov.,  1896. 


THE  SACRED   GROVE   OF  THE  ARVALES.      127 


The  serpent  of 
Juno  of  Lanuvium 
was  not  an  abstract 
symbol ;  a  live  spe- 
cimen of  a  particu- 
lar species  was  kept 
in  a  cave,  within 
the  sacred  grove 
adjoining  the  tem- 
ple of  the  goddess ; 
pilgrims  and  de- 
votees offered  it 
food  and  votive 
emblems  ;  and 
whenever  doubts 
were  cast  on  the 
honesty  of  a  young 
girl  she  was  com- 
pelled to  undergo 
the  judgment  of 
the  serpent,  by 
which  she  was  de- 
voured if  guilty. 
The  behavior  of 
the  sacred  animal 

was  also  taken  as  an  omen  for  the  coming  harvest.  These 
human  sacrifices,  the  evidence  of  remote  antiquity  in  the 
worship  of  the  goddess,  lasted  at  least  up  to  the  second 
century  of  the  Christian  era,  when  ^Elianus  wrote  his  well- 
known  account  (x.  16).  According  to  Prosper  of  Aqui- 
tania,  the  institution  was  still  flourishing  in  the  fourth  and 
fifth  centuries,  but  the  live  serpent  of  classic  times  had  been 
superseded  by  a  mechanical  contrivance  of  tremendous 


The  Juno  Lanuvina. 


128      THE  SACRED   GROVE   OF  THE  ARVALES. 

power.  This  artificial  serpent  was  of  great  size ;  from  its 
eyes,  made  of  precious  stones,  darted  fiery  sparks;  it  held  a 
sword  in  its  mouth ;  and  when  the  unsuspecting  girl  de- 
scended the  steps  of  the  cavern  to  lay  her  offering  before 
the  dragon,  she  unconsciously  touched  a  spring  which  set 
the  mechanism  in  motion  and  made  the  sword  fall  on  her 
neck.  The  fraud  was  discovered  at  last  by  a  Christian 
hermit,  a  friend  of  Stilicho,  who,  having  obtained  admission 
somehow  into  the  cave,  felt  his  way  at  every  step  with  a 
cane,  until  he  succeeded  in  touching  the  spring,  and  in 
making  the  sword  fall  without  injury  to  himself.  On  hear- 
ing of  the  monk's  discovery  the  Christians  of  the  neighbor- 
hood invaded  the  cave,  destroyed  the  dragon,  and  probably 
levelled  the  temple  of  Juno  to  the  ground. 

We  have  the  evidence  of  these  extraordinary  events  not 
only  in  the  magnificent  statue  of  the  goddess  herself,  now 
in  the  Rotunda  of  the  Vatican,  but  in  the  actual  existence 
of  a  special  kind  of  serpents  in  the  territory  of  Lanuvium. 

Cicero,  "  De  Divin."  i.  79,  describes  how  the  nurse  of 
Roscius  discovered  him  wound  in  the  coils  of  a  snake  in  a 
field  called  Solonium,  "  qui  est  campus  agri  Lanuvini." 
Atia,  the  mother  of  Augustus,  born  according  to  the  tradi- 
tion alluded  to  by  Suetonius  (Aug.  6)  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Velitrae  and  Lanuvium,  bore  a  serpent's  mark  on  her 
skin.  The  Solonium  mentioned  by  Cicero  is  actually  called 
Dragone  and  Dragoncello,  the  Field  of  the  Dragon ;  and  a 
church  built  there  in  the  middle  ages  was  dedicated  to  St. 
George,  the  driver-away  of  dragons.  Professor  Tommasetti 
thinks  that  the  peculiar  kind  of  serpents  bred  within  the 
precincts  of  the  temple  must  have  been  dispersed  after  the 
abandonment  of  the  sanctuary,  but  that  they  did  not  migrate 
too  far.  In  the  farm  of  Carrocceto,  right  under  the  hill  of 
Civita  Lavinia,  there  is  to  be  found  the  largest  species  of 


THE  SACRED   GROVE   OF  THE  AR VALES.     131 

(inoffensive)  serpents  known  to  live  in  the  Roman  Cam- 
pagna,  and  these  serpents  are  actually  called  by  the  peasan- 
try "  Serpenti  della  Regina,"  a  manifest  allusion  to  Juno 
magna  Sospita  Regina,  as  the  goddess  of  Lanuvium  was 
officially  named.  But  I  have  myself  something  to  add  to 
Professor  Tommasetti's  interesting  remarks.  I  have  just 
found  in  some  long-forgotten  records  of  the  state  Archives 
that  the  section  of  the  Aventine  hill  upon  which  stands  the 
church  of  Santa  Sabina  was  called  in  the  middle  ages  "  Lo 
Monte  de  lo  Serpente,"  a  manifest  reminder  of  the  great 
temple  of  Juno  Regina,  on  the  remains  of  which  —  shattered 
by  the  earthquake  of  A.  D.  422  —  the  church  of  S.  Sabina 
was  built  by  Peter  the  Illyrian  in  425. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL THE  BASIL- 
ICA PAULLI  IN  THE  FORUM,  AND  THE  BASILICA  PAULI 
APOSTOLI  ON  THE  ROAD  TO  OSTIA. 

SPEAKING  of  the  fire  which  swept  over  the  Forum  in  the 
year  210  B.  c.  under  the  consulship  of  Marcellus  and  Lsevi- 
nus,  Livy  says,  xxvi.  27,  3,  that  the  flames  leapt  directly 
from  the  public  square  upon  the  private  houses  around 
"because  they  were  not  screened,  as  they  are  now,  by  a 
belt  of  basilicse."  In  fact,  the  first  edifice  of  this  kind  was 
erected  only  in  184  by  M.  Porcius  Cato  the  elder,  under 
the  name  of  Basilica  Porcia.  The  institution  became  at 
once  so  popular  that,  before  the  end  of  the  Republic,  five 
more  "  regal  halls "  were  built  for  the  accommodation  of 
the  habitues  of  the  Forum  :  the  Sempronia  in  169  on  the 
line  of  the  Tabernse  Veteres,  the  Opimia  in  121  by  the 
temple  of  Concord,  the  Fulvia  in  179  by  the  Argiletum, 
the  Emilia  in  54,  and  the  Julia  in  46  (rebuilt  and  enlarged 
by  Augustus  in  the  year  12). 

The  basilicse  are  identified  generally  with  our  law-courts, 
but  such  was  not  their  exclusive  purpose.  They  were 
used  not  only  for  the  administration  of  justice  but  also  for 
exchanges,  or  places  of  meeting  for  merchants  and  men  of 
business.  The  two  uses  are  so  mixed  up  that  it  is  difficult 
to  say  which  was  the  principal  one.  We,  "  laudatores 
temporis  acti,"  are  in  the  habit  of  seeing  things  rather 
idealized  whenever  we  speak  or  think  of  bygone  times, 
and  we  like  to  picture  the  Forum  of  Republican  Rome 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL.     133 

as  an  august  and  mighty  place,  in  which  the  destinies  of 
the  world  were  discussed  and  decided  upon,  where  state 
trials  were  conducted,  slaves  tortured,  and  the  bodies  of 
state  offenders,  who  had  undergone  capital  punishment,  ex- 
posed on  the  Gemonian  steps,  until  the  executioner  would 
hook  them  to  a  chain  and  drag  them  across  the  pavement 
to  one  of  the  openings  of  the  Cloaca  Maxima. 

The  Forum  was  altogether  a  much  gayer,  a  more  vulgar 
and  matter-of-fact  centre  of  life ;  used  for  military  reviews 
and  parades  as  well  as  for  public  banquets,  gladiatorial 
fights,  and  shows  of  every  kind,  including  exhibitions  of 
works  of  art,  paintings,  statues,  panoramas,  and  wonders  of 
nature,  such  as  the  serpent  fifty  cubits  long,  exhibited  at 
the  time  of  Augustus.  Whenever  one  of  these  celebrations 
took  place,  the  shops  and  the  porticoes  were  hung  with 
shields  and  tapestries  lent  to  the  ^Ediles  by  private  collec- 
tors, and  stands  were  erected,  with  seats  for  hire,  much  to 
the  annoyance  of  the  populace,  whose  accommodations  were 
thus  considerably  reduced.  C.  Gracchus  put  an  end  to  this 
practice  by  setting  fire,  in  the  darkness  of  night,  to  the 
stands. 

As  regards  the  every-day  city  life,  we  may  take  the 
Forum  as  a  place  of  rendezvous  and  intrigue ;  where  all 
kinds  of  transactions  were  practised,  from  the  hiring  of 
waiters  and  flute-players  for  "  at  homes  "  to  the  borrowing 
of  large  sums  of  money.  The  shops,  originally  rented  to 
butchers  and  schoolmasters,  became  in  time  more  attractive 
and  ornamental.  Civil  and  criminal  cases  were  tried  at  the 
statue  of  Marsyas,  the  meeting-place  of  lawyers,  witnesses, 
and  clerks ;  while  auctioneers  and  slave-merchants  usually 
met  by  the  Argentarise.  The  Canalicolae,  a  drunken  and 
sharp-tongued  race,  complainers  of  everything  and  every- 
body, were  to  be  found  along  the  gutter  by  which  the  rain- 


134  THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL. 

water  was  drained  into  the  cloaca.  Well-to-do  citizens 
preferred  the  lower  end  of  the  Forum  and  the  Sacra  Via, 
lined  by  the  beautiful  shops  of  jewellers,  perfumers,  and 
makers  of  musical  instruments.  The  neighborhood  of  the 
Vortumnus  at  the  entrance  to  the  Vicus  Tuscus  (Via  di 
S.  Teodoro)  bore  an  ill  fame,  and  so  did  the  lower  Subura, 
the  notorious  headquarters  of  pickpockets  and  receivers  of 
stolen  goods.  Copyists,  booksellers,  and  shoemakers  had 
established  themselves  along  the  Argiletum,  fruiterers  and 
florists  on  the  Summa  Sacra  Via,  and  vendors  of  bronze 
vases  near  the  temple  of  Janus. 

The  basilicae,  likewise,  were  haunted  by  a  special  and 
generally  disreputable  set  of  men,  such  as  fishmongers,  who 
poisoned  the  vestibules  and  colonnades  with  the  offensive 
smell  of  their  merchandise ;  the  "  subbasilicani,"  concocters 
and  propagators  of  false  news  and  spicy  gossip  ;  and,  above 
all,  the  bankers  and  brokers  with  their  usual  retinue  of 
usurers,  money-lenders,  and  shady  men  of  business.  The 
arcades  of  the  Julia  and  of  the  ^Emilia  and  the  middle 
section  of  the  street  "  ad  Janum  "  may  truly  be  called 
the  Bourse  and  the  Exchange  of  ancient  Rome. 

Before  the  beginning  of  the  present  campaign  of  explora- 
tion it  was  known  that  the  Basilica  ^Emilia,  the  most  beauti- 
ful of  Roman  structures  of  the  golden  age,  lay  buried  under 
the  block  of  houses  on  the  north  side  of  the  Forum,  between 
the  churches  of  S.  Adriano  and  S.  Lorenzo  in  Miranda ;  but 
what  its  plan  and  size  were,  what  its  state  of  preservation, 
what  the  style  of  its  architecture,  no  one  could  tell.  The 
results  of  -the  excavations  have  been  rather  disappointing 
to  the  general  public,  who  labored  under  the  delusion  that 
the  place  had  never  been  excavated  before,  though  not 
to  us  students,  who  had  foreseen  the  state  of  despoilment 
of  the  basilica  in  reading  the  accounts  of  the  search  for 


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THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL.     137 


Site  of  Basilica  yEmilia  before  excavation. 

marbles  made  at  the  time  of  Paul  III.  by  the  architects  of 
St.  Peter's.  The  history  of  the  place  is  briefly  this :  First 
constructed  in  179  B.  c.  by  the  censors  M.  Fulvius  Nobilior 
and  M.  ^Emilius  Lepidus,  under  the  name  of  Basilica  Fulvia, 
it  was  repaired  a  century  later  by  another  ^Emilius,  consul 
B.  c.  .78.  His  son,  L.  Paullus,  having  received  from  Julius 
Caesar  a  gift  of  1500  talents,  rebuilt  the  hall  from  the  foun- 
dations. The  work  lasted  twenty-five  years,  and  the  third 
dedication  of  the  "  ^Emilia  Monumenta,"  as  Tacitus  calls  it, 
took  place  in  34.  A  fourth  restoration  is  mentioned  under 
Augustus,  a  fifth  and  the  last  under  Tiberius.  Classic 
writers,  while  expatiating  in  general  terms  on  the  marvel- 
lous beauty  of  the  building,  give  no  particulars,  except  that 
it  was  "  columnis  e  Phrygiis  mirabilis,"  that  is,  that  it  was 
admired  for  its  columns  of  pavonazzetto,  the  purple-veined 
marble  quarried  near  Synnada,  in  the  heart  of  Phrygia. 
We  owe  this  particular  to  Pliny  the  elder,  xxxvi.  24,  2,  who 


138     THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL. 

published  the  Natural  History  in  A.  D.  77,  after  the  fire  of 
Nero  (A.  D.  65)  and  before  the  fire  of  Titus  (A.  D.  80). 
We  know,  therefore,  that  the  basilica  had  not  been  damaged 
on  the  former  occasion  ;  but  did  it  escape  uninjured  on  the 
second  ?  And  what  was  its  fate  in  A.  D.  283,  when  another 
great  conflagration,  which  goes  by  the  name  of  Carinus, 
raged  from  one  end  to  the  other  of  the  Sacra  Via,  destroy- 
ing the  Basilica  Julia,  the  Senate  House,  the  Grsecostasis, 
and  the  Forum  Julium,  that  is  to  say,  the  edifices  by  which 
the  ^Emilia  was  surrounded  on  every  side?  Probably  it 
suffered  a  certain  amount  of  damage,  which  must  have 
been  made  good  soon  after,  because  we  find  the  basilica 
mentioned  again  towards  the  middle  of  the  fourth  cen- 
tury. And  here  our  information  ends.  What  became  of 
it  after  that  time  is  only  a  matter  of  conjecture.  Yet  it  is 
not  improbable  to  suppose  that  its  spoils  were  made  use  of 
in  the  construction  of  the  Basilica  Pauli  Apostoli  on  the 
road  to  Ostia  in  A.  D.  386. 

I  have  already  described,  in  "  Pagan  and  Christian 
Rome,"  p.  150,  how  the  memorial  church  raised  by  Con- 
stantine  over  the  grave  of  the  Apostle  was  too  small  and 
inadequate  for  the  accommodation  of  pilgrims  who  flocked 
to  it  in  vast  numbers  from  all  parts  of  the  world  where  the 
doctrines  of  Christ  had  been  made  known.  Constantine 
had  had  no  intention  of  placing  St.  Paul  in  an  inferior 
rank  to  that  of  St.  Peter,  or  of  showing  less  respect  for 
his  memory ;  but,  while  the  position  of  St.  Peter's  grave  in 
relation  to  the  circus  of  Nero  and  the  cliffs  of  the  Vatican 
was  such  as  to  give  Constantine  perfect  freedom  to  extend 
the  basilica  in  all  directions,  especially  lengthwise,  the  case 
with  that  of  St.  Paul  was  remarkably  different,  because  the 
highroad  to  Ostia  —  the  channel  by  which  Rome  was  fed 
—  ran  only  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet  east  of  the  grave  itself. 


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THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST   PAUL.     141 


The  Triumphal  Arch  bf  Honorius  at  St.  Paul's. 

Hence  the  necessity  of  limiting  the  size  of  the  church  within 
these  two  points. 

In  386  Valentinian,  Theodosius,  and  Arcadius  wrote  to 
Flavius  Sallustius,  prefect  of  the  City,  declaring  that  if  the 
S.  P.  Q.  R.  would  give  their  consent  for  the  suppression  of 
a  certain  old  road  which  ran  back  of  the  apse  of  the  Con- 
stantinian  church,  they  were  ready  to  rebuild  the  church 
ex  novo,  changing  its  front  from  east  to  west,  and  extend- 
ing it  towards  the  Tiber,  so  as  to  make  it  vie  in  size  and 
beauty  with  St.  Peter's.  The  consent  was  willingly  given, 
and  the  reconstruction,  begun  in  388,  was  completed  in 
395  by  Honorius,  as  certified  by  the  verse 

THEODOSIVS  C.EPIT  PERFECIT  HONORIVS  AVLAM 

which  we  read  on  the  "  triumphal  arch  "  at  the  top  of  the 
nave,  together  with  the  name  of  Galla  Placidia,  sister  of 


142     THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL. 

Honorius,  and  wife  of  Atawulf,  king  of  the  Goths,  at  whose 
expense  the  arch  was  covered  with  the  glorious  mosaics. 

I  need  hardly  say  that  the  new  edifice  was  erected  at 
the  expense  and  with  the  spoils  of  older  ones,  which  had 
once  formed  the  pride  and  glory  of  imperial  Rome.  In 
fact,  we  cannot  find  among  the  sacred  and  profane  build- 
ings of  the  fourth  and  fifth  century  a  single  one  which 
could  not  be  compared  in  this  respect  to  ^Esop's  crow.  If 
the  S.  P.  Q.  R.  themselves,  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of 
Constantine's  victory  over  Maxentius,  erected  an  arch  by 
the  Meta  Sudans  with  the  marbles  of  two  or  three  older 
ones,  and  of  several  patrician  mausoleums,  the  builders  of 
churches  did  not  hesitate,  to  be  sure,  to  follow  the  example 
and  lay  hands  on  whatever  pagan  edifice  best  suited  their 
purpose.  From  this  point  of  view  our  churches  can  be 
divided  into  two  groups :  those  built  with  the  spoils  of  only 
one  classic  monument,  such  as  S.  Maria  Maggiore,  S.  Pietro 
in  Vinculis,  and  S.  Lorenzo  fuori  le  Mura,  the  columns  of 
which  were  removed  from  the  Macellum  Livise,  the  Porticus 
Tellurensis,  and  the  Opera  Octavise  respectively ;  and  those 
built  at  the  expense  of  several,  like  St.  Peter's,  the  Lateran, 
S.  Agnese,  S.  Clemente,  etc. 

The  church  of  St.  Paul  of  the  time  of  Theodosius  and 
Honorius  belongs  really  to  both  classes,  because  although 
its  pavement  was  patched  with  nearly  one  thousand  inscrip- 
tions stolen  with  equal  freedom  from  Christian  as  well  as 
from  heathen  cemeteries,  and  although  the  columns  divid- 
ing the  inner  from  the  outer  aisles  were  of  unequal  size  and 
quality,  yet  the  twenty-four  columns  of  Phrygian  marble, 
by  which  the  nave  became  renowned  all  over  the  world, 
beautifully  matched  in  color  and  finish  and  crowned  with 
capitals  of  the  same  exquisite  cut,  must  have  been  removed 
from  one  and  the  same  edifice.1 

1  The  columns  of  the  nave  were  forty  in  all,  all  fluted  and  well  matched  ; 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL.     143 

Archaeologists  have  inquired  as  to  their  place  of  origin. 
Nicolai  and  Piale  contend  that  they  were  removed  from  the 
Mausoleum  of  Hadrian  ;  Fea  and  Nibby  identify  them  with 
the  "  columnse  Phrygise "  which,  according  to  Pliny  the 
elder,  made  the  Basilica  Paulli  in  the  Forum  "  mirabilis  " 
and  unique.  The  controversy  has  by  no  means  died  out. 
It  was  taken  up  again  in  1888  by  de  Rossi  and  Huelsen 


The  Basilica  Pauli  Apostoli,  destroyed  by  fire  in  1823. 

against  myself,  and  after  a  debate  which  took  up  two  whole 
sittings  of  the  Archaeological  Institute  (January  27  and 
February  3),  it  ended,  as  parliamentary  debates  do,  by  each 
side  retaining  its  own  view.1 

of  those  nearer  to  the  arch  of  Placidia,  nine  on  the  right  and  seven  on  the  left 
were  of  white  marble,  the  rest  of  pavonazzetto,  a  marble  as  beautiful  as  it  is 
easily  tarnished  by  the  combined  action  of  dust  and  damp.  Cardinal  Antonio 
Finy  (f  1743)  caused  ten  columns  to  be  cleaned  at  his  expense.  His  example 
was  followed  by  other  cardinals.  The  last  four  were  polished  by  order  of 
Benedict  XIV.  They  measured  10.25  metres  in  height,  1.19  metres  in  diame- 
ter, with  an  intercolumniation  of  1.81  metres. 

1  Compare  Mittheil.  1889,  p.  242  ;   The'denat,  Le  Forum,  p.  161  ;   Bull.  arch. 
Com.  vol.  xxvii.  1899,  p.  169. 


144     THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  present  campaign  we  felt  san- 
guine that  the  spade  would  be  more  successful  in  clearing 
up  the  matter  than  all  our  reasoning,  but  unfortunately  the 
search  was  given  up  when  hardly  two  fifths  of  the  basilica 
had  been  laid  bare.  Of  one  thing,  however,  we  are  sure, 
—  that  a  considerable  section  of  the  building  was  disman- 
tled and  levelled  to  the  ground  at  the  end  of  the  fourth 
century,  that  is,  at  the  precise  time  when  the  church  of 
St.  Paul  was  raised  on  the  road  to  Ostia. 

We  must  remember  that  shortly  after  peace  and  freedom 
were  given  to  the  church,  and  the  doors  of  temples  be- 
gan to  be  closed,  it  became  the  fashion  among  the  victorious 
Christians  to  place  pagan  buildings  under  the  protection  of 
saints  whose  names  sounded  more  or  less  like  those  of  the 
gods  just  expelled  from  the  structure  or  of  the  founders 
and  former  owners  of  the  place.  For  instance,  if  a  chapel 
was  erected  within  the  precincts  of  a  palace  or  of  a  villa 
which  had  belonged  to  one  of  the  Caesars,  or  to  the 
imperial  domain  in  general,  it  was  dedicated  to  St.  Caesarius. 
Thus  we  find  a  church  Sancti  Caesarii  in  Palatio  on  the 
Palatine;  another  of  the  same  denomination  in  the  villa 
near  Velletri,  where  Augustus 'passed  his  youth  ;  and  a  third 
at  the  eighteenth  milestone  of  the  Via  Labicana,  where 
Maxentius  owned  a  large  estate.  Temples  of  Jupiter  were 
dedicated  to  St.  Jovinus  or  Juvenalis,  temples  of  Saturn  to 
St.  Saturninus,  temples  of  Apollo  to  St.  Apollinaris,  etc. 
On  the  door  of  the  church  of  S.  Martina,  built  on  the 
alleged  site  of  the  Martis  forum  (Marforio)  the  following 
play  upon  words  was  engraved  :  — 

MARTYRII  GESTANS  VIRGO  MARTINA  CORONAM 
EIECTO  HINC  MARTIS  NUMINE  TEMPLA  TENET. 

No  wonder,  then,  that  the  materials  of  the  Basilica  Paulli 
should  have  been  chosen  to  adorn  the  grave  and  the  memo- 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL.     145 

rial  church  of  the  apostle  of  the  same  name.  The  two 
names,  in  fact,  seem  to  have  been  purposely  put,  as  it  were, 
in  opposition,  or  rather  in  comparison,  as  shown  by  the 
following  incidents.  Towards  the  beginning  of  the  fourth 
century  it  became  the  fashion  to  fasten  on  the  neck  of  run- 
away slaves  and  dogs  a  brass  ring  from  which  hung  a  label 
giving  the  name  and  the  address  of  the  owner,  with  the 
request  that,  in  case  of  a  renewed  attempt  to  escape,  the 
fugitive  should  be  arrested  and  brought  back  to  his  mas- 
ter. These  small  keimelia  are  of  great  interest  on  account 
of  the  topographic  indications  they  contain,  such  as  "  ad 
aedem  Florae  ad  Tonsores,"  "  in  regione  quinta  in  area 
Macari,"  "  ad  Mappam  Auream  in  Abentino,"  "  de  regione 
XII  ad  balineum  Scriboniolum  Romae,"  etc.  Nineteen 
such  addresses  are  registered  in  vol.  xv.  p.  897  of  the 
"  Corpus  Inscr.  Lat."  The  collars  of  slaves  are  distin- 
guished from  those  of  dogs  by  the  formula  "  servvs  svm  " 
(I  am  the  slave  of  .  .  .  )  with  which  they  begin.  Two 
labels,  one  undoubtedly  of  a  dog,  the  other  probably  so, 
contain  the  following  words  •  — 

Corpus  n.  7138  :    AD  BASILICA(TO)  APOSTOLI  PAVLI  ET  DDD  NNN  FILICISSIMI 
pECOR(anY)  ; 

n.  7189.    TEXE  ME  QVIA  FVGI  ET  REBOCA  ME  IN  BASILICA    PAVLLI  AD  LEONEM  J 

which  mean  respectively  :  "  I  am  the  dog  of  Felicissimus, 
shepherd  of  the  Basilica  of  the  apostle  Paul,  (rebuilt  by)  our 
three  Lords  "  (Valentinian  II.,  Theodosius,  and  Arcadius), 
and,  "  Hold  me  because  I  ran  away  and  take  me  back  to 
Leo  (the  porter?  of)  the  Basilica  Paulli."  These  two  labels 
have  been  quoted  by  de  Rossi  as  if  they  prove  that  the 
two  basilicas  were  in  existence  at  the  same  time,  and  there- 
fore that  the  columns  of  the  pagan  could  not  have  been 
made  use  of  in  the  Christian,  but  there  is  no  evidence  of 
synchronism.  In  fact,  the  dog  of  Felicissimus  the  shepherd 


146     THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL. 

is  by  some  years  the  younger  of  the  two,  as  shown  by  the 
palaeography  of  their  respective  labels. 

The  latest  document  certifying  the  existence  of  the  basil- 
ica in  the  Forum  is  to  be  found  in  the  pedestals  of  Gabinius 
Vettius  Probianus,  who  was  prefect  of  the  City  in  377, 
nine  years  before  the  reconstruction  of  St.  Paul's.  This 
energetic  magistrate  took  a  leading  part  in  the  removal  of 
the  statues  of  gods  from  temples  to  civic  buildings,  such 
as  forums,  baths,  and  courts  of  justice,  where  they  were  set 
up  again  and  exhibited  as  mere  works  of  art.1  Seven  or 
eight  such  pedestals  have  already  come  to  light,  some  on 
the  Sacra  Via  in  front  of  Faustina's  temple,  some  from  the 
Basilica  Julia,  some  from  the  ^Emilia.  Those  of  the  Julia 
declare  expressly  how  Probianus  "  has  put  up  this  statue  to 
ornament  the  Basilica  Julia  which  he  has  lately  restored," 
those  of  the  ^Emiha  contain  the  more  vague  formula, "  stat- 
uam  conlocari  pracepit  qua3  ornamento  basilicce  esse  posset 
inlustri."  Together  with  these  and  other  pedestals  a  set 
of  plinths  has  been  found,  with  inscriptions  which  show 
their  respective  statues  to  have  been  the  work  of  Praxiteles, 
of  Polycletus,  of  Timarchus,  of  Bryaxis,  etc.  Could  we  be- 
hold once  more,  could  we  catch  only  a  glimpse  of  this  mar- 
vellous array  of  masterpieces,  by  which  the  Sacred  Way  of 
the  decadence  was  transformed  into  the  finest  art  gallery 
the  world  has  ever  seen,  where  every  famous  artist  and 
school  was  represented  by  its  best  productions !  Unfortu- 
nately they  were  not  chiselled  in  marble  but  cast  in  bronze, 
which  means  that  they  all  are  beyond  hope  of  rediscovery. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  excavation  of  the  ^Emilia 
has  been  given  up,  at  least  for  the  time  being,  when  the 
section  laid  bare  amounts  scarcely  to  two  fifths  of  the  total 

1  "Stabunt  et  sera  innoxia  quse  nunc  habentur  idola  !"  Prudentius,  Peris- 
teph.  ii.  v.  479,  480. 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL.     147 


area.  As  far  as  we  can  judge  at  this  imperfect  stage  of 
exploration,  the  noble  building  comprised  three  parts  :  a 
central  hall  divided  into  nave  and  aisles  by  a  double  line 
of  columns ;  a  row  of 
rooms  or  offices  on  either 
side  of  the  hall,  opening 
on  the  outside  porticoes  ; 
and  these  last  -  named 
porticoes,  which  deco- 
rated the  longitudinal 
sides  of  the  building. 

The  rooms,  or  offices, 
each  5.41  metres  wide, 
7.15  metres  deep,  the 
pavement  of  which  is  in- 
laid with  white  and  poly- 
chrome marbles  in  grace- 
ful and  sober  design, 
were  identified  soon  after 
their  discovery  with  the 
"Tabernje  Novae"  of 
the  republican  Forum  — 
unnecessarily,  I  believe. 

The  rooms  form  part 
of  the  essential  plan  and 
frame  of  the  basilica, 

corresponding  in  width  to  the  arcades  of  the  portico  on 
which  they  open  ;  in  other  words,  there  are  as  many  rooms 
as  there  are  arcades  in  the  fagade.  Edifices  of  this  kind 
must  have  had  plenty  of  meeting  and  sitting  rooms  for 
jurors,  judges,  lawyers,  clerks,  and  witnesses;  others  in  which 
records  and  "  pieces  a  conviction  "  were  kept.  It  may  be 
possible  also  that  some  of  the  apartments  were  let  to  bank- 


A  "  candeliera  "  or  marble  pilaster  of 
the  Basilica  ^Emilia. 


148     THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL. 

ers  and  money-lenders,  called  "  argentarii "  and  "  nummu- 
larii"  respectively.  Well  known  are  the  nummularii  of 
the  Basilica  Julia,  like  T.  Flavins  Genethlius,  a  Thracian 
by  birth,  who  took  to  banking  after  having  been  a  rider  in 
the  circus,  or  L.  Marcius  Fortunatus,  who  married  the  girl 
Zoe  when  only  sixteen  years  of  age.1  If  this  sort  of  peo- 
ple showed  partiality  for  the  Julia,  it  is  easy  to  conceive 
what  a  competition  there  must  have  been  about  renting 
rooms  in  the  ^Emilia,  which  stood  right  in  the  "  Wall 
Street  "  of  classic  Rome. 

The  existence  of  bankers  (argentarii)  at  Rome  can  be 
proved  as  early  as  309  B.  c.,  although  silver  (argentum)  was 
not  coined  in  Roman  mints  before  268  B.  c.  Their  name, 
however,  can  be  very  well  explained  if  we  regard  them  as 
the  changers  of  foreign  (especially  south  Italian  and  Etrus- 
can) silver  coins  into  Roman  bronze  currency.  In  progress 
of  time  the  money-changing  business  passed  into  the  hands 
of  an  inferior  class  of  agents,  called  "  nummularii,"  while 
pure  banking-affairs,  like  the  opening  of  current  accounts, 
the  receiving  of  deposits,  the  making  of  loans,  was  reserved  to 
the  argentarii.  They  acted  in  a  strictly  private  capacity,  and 
whenever  in  early  times  we  hear  of  public  or  state  bankers, 
we  may  be  sure  they  were  appointed  for  a  special  emergency, 
under  the  name  of  "  tres  viri  mensarii,"  chiefly  to  lend 
money  to  private  individuals  during  a  financial  crisis,  such 
as  those  which  occurred  in  B.  c.  351  and  216.  When  the 
public  treasury  lent  aid  to  business  men  in  a  similar  stress 
A.-D.  33,  Tiberius  seems  to  have  done  it  through  ordinary 
bankers,  who  at  all  events  were  always  considered  to  exer- 
cise a  public  function.  Just  as  stockbrokers  in  London  are 
licensed  by  the  Lord  Mayor,  and  in  Dublin  by  the  Lord 
Lieutenant,  so  in  Rome  the  bankers  were  under  the  super- 

i  Corpus  Inscr.  vol.  vi.  9709,  9711,  etc. 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL.     149 

vision  of  the  prefect  of  the  City,  and  in  the  provinces  under 
that  of  the  governor. 

The  business  transacted  in  their  offices  were  the  "  permu- 
tatio,"  or  the  exchange  of  foreign  for  Roman  coin,  subject 
to  the  payment  of  a  small  agio  —  the  drawing  of  bills  of 
exchange  payable  by  correspondents  abroad,  an  operation 
which  made  it  imperative  for  the  banker  to  be  acquainted 
with  the  current  value  of  the  same  coin  in  different  coun- 
tries and  at  different  times,  and  the  keeping  of  sums  of 
money  for  clients.  If  the  money  was  deposited  by  the 
owner  as  a  "  depositum,"  that  is,  to  save  himself  the  trouble 
or  danger  of  keeping  it  and  making  payments,  then  the 
banker  paid  no  interest,  but  simply  honored  the  cheques  of 
the  client  as  long  as  there  was  a  balance  in  his  favor ;  but 
when  the  money  was  deposited,  as  a  "  creditum,"  at  interest 


A  marble  panel  from  the  Basilica  Emilia. 


for  a  specified  lapse  of  time,  the  banker  was  allowed  to  use 
and  invest  it  as  he  thought  best  for  the  common  interest. 

In  case  of  failure  the  law  enacted  that  the  claims  of  the 
"  depositarii "  should  be  satisfied  before  those  of  creditors 
who  had  money  at  interest  in  the  bank.  "  Of  all  this  busi- 


150     THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL. 

ness,"  says  Professor  L.  C.  Purser,1  "  of  the  receipts  as  well 
as  of  the  expenditure  the  bankers  kept  accurate  accounts  in 
books  called  '  codices,'  '  tabulae,'  or  '  rationes,'  and  there 
is  every  reason  for  believing  that  they  were  acquainted  with 
what  is  called  in  bookkeeping  '  double  entry.' ' 

The  central  hall  of  the  basilica,  where  justice  was  dis- 
pensed, was  divided  into  nave  and  aisles  by  two  rows  of 
columns,  of  which  many  pieces  have  been  found.  The  pave- 
ment, quite  well  preserved,  is  inlaid  with  slabs  of  giallo,  por- 
tasanta,  africano,  cipollino,  etc.,  all  rectilinear  and  arranged 
so  as  to  harmonize  in  design  with  the  site  of  the  columns. 

The  peculiarity  of  this  pavement  is  that  it  has  been 
found  covered  from  one  end  to  the  other  with  loose  copper 
coins  of  the  end  of  the  fourth  century.  And  as  this  ab- 
normal dispersion  of  coins  was  either  contemporary  with  or 
very  soon  followed  by  a  raging  fire  (ashes,  coals,  and  burnt 
matter  in  general  have  been  found  all  over  the  place,  form- 
ing the  first  and  lowest  layer  of  the  stratified  rubbish) 
many  of  them  have  been  melted  and  welded  together  into 
a  shapeless  mass  of  metal.  These  masses,  as  well  as  sin- 
gle coins,  have  also  been  cemented  against  the  slabs  of 
the  pavement,  which  appears  all  marked  with  spots  of  ver- 
digris. I  do  not  know  how  many  thousand  specimens  of 
this  worthless  currency  have  been  put  aside  just  now  ;  but 
what  I  know  is  that,  great  as  their  number  may  be,  we  are 
only  collecting  what  the  Cinquecento  excavators  have  left 
for  us  to  pick,  after  appropriating  the  better  part  of  the 
spoils.  Bartolomeo  Marliano,  contemporary  with  the  loot- 
ing of  the  basilica  in  1531,  mentions  "  magnam  aBreorum 
nummorum  copiam  "  (a  great  quantity  of  copper  coins) 
found  by  the  marble-cutters  and  limeburners  of  his  days. 
This  band  of  devastators  did  irreparable  injury  to  the 

1  In  his  excellent  article  in  Smith's  Diet.  vol.  i.  pp.  179-183. 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL.     151 

basilica,  reaching  the  lowest  level  of  its  foundations  in  their 
quest  for  building  materials,  and  wrenching  from  their  sock- 
ets even  the  tufa  blocks  upon  which  the  columns  of  the 
nave  stood.  The  spoliation  of  the  Basilica  ^Emilia  can  be 
compared  only  to  that  of  the  temples  of  Caesar  and  Vesta,  of 
which  merely  the  cores  of  the  foundations  remain  to  mark 
their  respective  sites.  That  of  the  ^Emilia  must  have 


The  oldest  known  view  of  the  mins  of  the  Forum,  now  in  the  Escurial. 

begun  at  a  very  remote  period,  probably  before  the  end  of 
the  fourteenth  century,  when  we  hear  of  a  great  limekiln, 
called  the  "  calcaria  ecclesia?  sancti  Adriani,"  established 
among  its  ruins,  and  fed  with  its  marbles.  A  second  cam- 
paign of  destruction  was  inaugurated  in  1431,  when  Pope 
Eugenius  IV.  granted  leave  to  Filippo  di  Giovanni  da  Pisa, 
stonecutter,  to  demolish  the  "  old  walls  known  to  exist 
in  the  place  called  Zeccha  antiqua,"  by  which  name  the 
"  ciceroni  "  of  the  fifteenth  century  used  to  designate  the 
neighborhood  of  S.  Adriano.  According  to  Flavio  Biondo, 


152     THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL. 

an  eyewitness,  it  took  ten  years  to  uproot  the  foundations 
of  the  basilica  and  to  burn  into  lime  whatever  materials 
had  escaped  the  kilns  of  the  preceding  century  ;  but  in 
fact  the  destruction  lasted  many  years  longer,  through  the 
pontificates  of  Calixtus  III.  and  Pius  II. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  century  nothing  was  left  stand- 
ing except  a  corner  of  the  edifice,  to  which  the  name  of 
"  Forinbuaro  "  (Forum  Boarium)  had  been  applied,  for  the 
same  reason  that  Metella's  mausoleum  is  still  called  "  Capo 
di  Bove,"  that  is,  on  account  of  the  bulls'  heads  or  skulls 
sculptured  on  the  frieze.  This  noble  ruin  had  probably 
been  spared  by  the  Quattrocento  vandals  out  of  respect  for 
the  saint,  whoever  he  was,  under  whose  protection  they  were 
placed  and  whose  chapel  they  contained.  Cardinal  Adriano 
Castelli  da  Corneto,  however,  did  not  carry  his  scruples  so 
far ;  he  simply  laid  hands  on  the  last  remnant  of  the  basilica 
in  1496,  making  use  of  the  marbles  for  his  palace  (now  Tor- 
lonia-Giraud)  in  the  Borgo  di  S.  Pietro. 

Bramante,  Antonio  da  Sangallo  the  elder,  Fra  Giovanni 
da  Verona,  and  Baldassarre  Peruzzi  have  left  most  interest- 
ing drawings  of  what  they  saw  discovered  and  destroyed 
on  this  occasion,  which  I  have  reproduced  in  facsimile  in 
my  Memoir  on  the  Senate  House  in  the  "  Atti  dei  Lincei  " 
for  January,  1883,  vol.  xi. 

After  this  long  tale  of  disasters  we  should  feel  inclined 
to  believe  that  the  wretched  spot  was  left  in  peace ;  but  we 
have  yet  to  deal  with  the  worst  gang  of  depredators,  those 
of  Paul  III.,  whose  deeds  positively  cast  into  the  background 
those  of  the  so-called  barbarians  of  Alaric,  Genseric,  and 
Robert  the  Norman.  I  have  related  in  "  Ruins  and  Exca- 
vations," p.  247,  how  sentence  of  death  was  passed  on  the 
monuments  of  the  Forum  and  of  the  Sacra  Via  on  July  22, 
1540,  by  a  brief  of  the  genial  Pope  Farnese  by  which  the 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL.     153 

Commissioners  for  the  rebuilding1  of  St.  Peter's  were  given 
absolute  liberty  to  search  for  ancient  marbles  wherever  they 
pleased,  to  remove  them  from  antique  buildings,  and  to  pull 
these  buildings  to  pieces  if  they  thought  it  best  for  their 
purpose.  They  started  from  Faustina's  temple  in  1540-41 
and  reached  the  opposite  site  of  the  valley  by  the  Vortum- 
rms  and  the  Augusteum  nine  years  later,  carrying  off,  burn- 
ing into  lime,  crushing  into  fragments  every  vestige  of  the 
stone-work  and  marble  decoration  of  the  arches  of  Fabius 
and  Augustus,  of  the  temples  of  Caesar  and  Vesta,  of  the 
Regia,  of  the  Augusteum,  etc.  As  regards  the  ^Emilia,  it 
seems  that,  to  revenge  themselves  for  their  disappointment 
at  finding  the  place  looted  already,  they  uprooted  out  of 
pure  wantonness  the  foundations  down  to  the  level  of 
spring  water,  because  the  possession  of  a  few  blocks  of  tufa 
certainly  could  not  have  repaid  the  trouble  and  expense  of 
boring  such  deep  trenches. 

By  a  singular  chance  two  marble  blocks,  containing 
only  eight  letters,  escaped  their  attention  ;  but  these  eight 
letters,  PAVL  .  .  .  and  REST  .  .  .  ,  tell  a  long  and  decisive 
tale.  They  bring  back  to  our  memory  the  last  episode  in 
the  history  of  the  building,  the  RESToration  made  at  the 
time  of  Tiberius  by  a  PAVLUS  (^Emilius),  descendant  of  the 
founder.  Other  marble  fragments  have  been  found  near 
the  site  of  the  limekiln,  or  else  lying  on  the  pavement  of 
the  Via  ad  Janum.  They  all  belong  to  the  true  golden 
age  of  Roman  art. 

Let  us  now  turn  our  attention  to  the  discoveries  made 
quite  lately  in  connection  with  the  basilica  and  grave  of 
Paul  the  Apostle,  whose  figure  appeals  to  us  more  forcibly 
than  any  other  in  the  history  of  the  propagation  of  the  gos- 
pel in  Rome.  I  do  not  speak  so  much  of  reverence  and 
admiration  for  his  work,  as  of  the  sympathy  and  charm 


154:  THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL. 

inspired  and  conveyed  by  his  personal  appearance.  In  all 
the  portraits  which  have  come  down  to  us  by  the  score, 
painted  on  the  walls  of  underground  cemeteries,  engraved 
in  gold  leaf  on  the  love-cups,  cast  in  bronze,  worked  in 
repousse  on  silver  or  copper  medallions,  or  outlined  in  mo- 
saic, the  features  of  Paul  never  vary.  He  appears  as  a 
thin,  wiry  man,  slightly  bald,  with  a  long,  pointed  beard. 
The  expression  of  the  face  is  calm  and  benevolent,  with  a 
gentle  touch  of  sadness.  The  profile  is  unmistakably  Jew- 
ish ;  in  fact,  although  born  in  a  gentile  city,  and  of  parents 
who  had  acquired  by  some  means  the  Roman  franchise, 
although  brought  up  to  speak  and  write  with  freedom  and 
mastery  the  Greek  language,  and  made  to  feel  the  influ- 
ence and  the  atmosphere  of  a  cultivated  community,  Saul 
was  essentially  a  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews.  As  to  the  air  of 
refinement  which  pervades  his  countenance,  we  must  re- 
member that,  though  he  was  a  crKrjvoiroios  or  tentmaker  by 
trade,  we  are  not  obliged  to  believe  that  he  was  actually 
compelled  to  manual  labor.  The  province  of  Cilicia  in 
general,  and  Tarsus,  his  birthplace,  in  particular,  were 
known  for  the  manufacturing  of  a  goat's-hair  cloth  called 
cilicium,  largely  used  for  tents.  It  is  not  impossible  that 
Saul's  father  may  have  owned  one  such  establishment,  in 
which  the  future  apostle  underwent  his  apprenticeship. 

The  picture  I  have  attempted  to  sketch  does  not  differ 
essentially  from  the  one  drawn  by  Conybeare  and  Howson  1 
from  elements  gathered  from  Malalas,  Nicephorus,  and  the 
apocryphal  "  Acta  Pauli  et  Theclae."  Conybeare  and  How- 
son  ascribe  to  the  apostle  a  short  stature,  a  long  face  with 
high  forehead,  an  aquiline  nose,  close  and  prominent  eye- 
brows. "  Other  characteristics  mentioned  are  baldness, 
gray  eyes,  a  clear  complexion,  and  a  winning  expression.  Of 

1  Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  p.  762". 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL.     155 


The  road  by  which  St.  Paul  approached  Rome. 

his  temperament  and  character  St.  Paul  is  himself  the  best 
painter.  .  .  .  We  perceive  the  warmth  and  ardor  of  his 
nature,  his  deeply  affectionate  disposition,  the  susceptibility 
of  his  sense  of  honor,  the  courtesy  and  personal  dignity  of 
his  bearing,  his  perfect  fearlessness,  his  heroic  endurance." 

I  believe  that  the  attempt  made  by  Jowett  some  forty 
years  ago,  to  demolish  what  he  calls  a  blind  and  undis- 
criminating  admiration  for  Paul,  by  representing  him  as  a 
man  whose  appearance  and  discourse  made  an  impression  of 
feebleness,  out  of  harmony  with  life  and  nature,  a  confused 
thinker,  expressing  himself  in  broken  words  and  hesitating 
form  of  speech,  with  no  beauty  or  comeliness  of  style,  has 
met  with  but  little  success. 

St.  Paul  saw  Rome  for  the  first  time  in  the  month  of 
January  of  the  year  61.  After  his  eventful  journey  across 
the  sea,  from  Adramyttium  to  Fair  Havens  and  Malta,  his 
shipwreck  on  the  coast  of  that  island,  and  a  second  crossing 
to  the  Bay  of  Naples,  he  landed  at  Pozzuoli,  and  following 

1  Smith,  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  ed.  1863. 


156     THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL. 

the  Via  Campana  to  Capua,  and  the  Via  Appia  to  Forum 
Appii,  Tres  Tabernae,  and  Bovillse,  entered  the  city  by  the 
old  Porta  Capena.1 

Julius,  the  centurion  of  the  eleventh  legion  Augusta,  who 
had  accompanied  him  by  order  of  Porcius  Festus,  governor 
of  Judea,  handed  him  over  to  Afranius  Burro,  prefect  of  the 
Praetorium.  He  was  given  a  sort  of  bail,  with  freedom  to 
preach  and  evangelize,  under  the  supervision  of  a  police 
officer.  After  a  lapse  of  two  years,  no  accuser  having  come 
forth  to  challenge  his  appeal  to  the  emperors,  he  under- 
went his  trial  in  the  "  consilium  principis "  and  was  re- 
stored to  full  liberty  and  the  full  enjoyment  of  his  rights 
of  Roman  citizenship.  The  trial  probably  took  place  in 
November  or  December,  63. 

Here  ends  the  evidence  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  which 
St.  Luke  is  supposed  to  have  finished  in  the  spring  of  64. 
Other  particulars  about  St.  Paul's  travels  and  apostolic  life 
may  be  gathered  from  the  Epistles.  He  visited  Rome  for 
the  second  time  in  the  year  66,  and  after  a  long  term  of 
imprisonment  was  executed  at  the  Aquae  Salviae  on  the  Via 
Laurentina,  on  June  29,  in  either  67  or  68. 

In  examining  the  various  details  concerning  St.  Paul's  visit 
to  Rome,  his  execution,  his  burial,  we  must  sift  what  is  pure 
and  conclusive  biblical  or  archaeological  evidence  from  what 
does  not  go  beyond  the  limits  of  a  pious  tradition  or  a  de- 
vout legend.  For  instance,  when  we  are  told  that  the  hired 
house  in  which  the  apostle  "  mansit  biennio  "  (lived  for  two 
years),  preaching  the  gospel  freely  ("  docens  quae"  de  domino 
Jesu  Christo  sine  prohibitione "),  is  the  one  the  remains 

1  Compare,  among  others,  Smith,  Voyage  and  Shipwreck  of  St.  Paul,  3d  ed., 
London,  1866  ;  Farrar,  Life  and  Work  of  St.  Paul,  London,  1879,  vol.  ii. 
chap,  xliv.,  xlv.  ;  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller  and  the  Roman  Citizen,  Lon- 
don, 189.5,  p.  315. 


a 
a 

b 
u 
a 
X 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL.     159 

of  which  are  to  be  seen  under  the  church  of  S.  Maria  in 
Via  Lata,  we  must  not  give  credit  to  the  statement  ;  1  be- 
cause those  remains  belong,  not  to  a  private  dwelling,  but 
to  a  great  public  edifice,  to  the  Septa  Julia,  one  of  the 
architectural  masterpieces  of  Agrippa,  which  extends  along 
the  Corso  (Via  Flaminia)  from  the  Piazza  di  Venezia  to  the 
Piazza  di  Sciarra,  including  the  sites  of  the  palaces  di  Vene- 
zia, Bonaparte,  Gavotti,  Doria,  Simonetti,  and  others.  It  is 
impossible  to  believe  that  a  private  citizen  could  have  lived 
in  the  Septa  Julia. 

Again,  when  we  are  told  that  St.  Paul  found  shelter  in 
another  Roman  house,  the  site  of  which  is  actually  marked 
by  the  church  of  S.  Paoliuo  alia  Regola,  Via  dei  Vaccinari, 
that  being  the  Jewish  quarter  and  the  proper  field  for  the 
apostle's  preachings,  we  must  not  believe  the  statement  ; 
because  the  Ghetto,  the  Jewish  quarter  of  ancient  Rome, 
was  in  the  Transtiberine  region  and  not  in  the  Campus 
Martius.2  But  when  we  come  to  the  question  of  the  friend- 
ship between  the  apostle  and  the  philosopher  Seneca,  Afra- 
nius  Burro,  M.  Annasus  Gallic,  and  other  eminent  person- 
ages of  the  imperial  court,  —  friendship  denied  by  many  as 

1  "  And  he  abode  two  years  in  his  own  hired  dwelling,  and  received  all  that 
went  unto  him  [xxviii.  30],  and  preached  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  taught  what 
concerned  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  with  boldness,  none  forbidding  him  [xxviii. 
31]."     "  We  infer,  therefore,"  Canon   Farrar  says,  "  that  Paul's  hired  apart- 
ment was  within  close  range  of  the  Prtetorian  Camp." 

2  In  the  excavations  which  the  American  School  of  Athens  carried  on  in 
1898  at  Corinth,  a  marble  lintel  was  found  among  the  ruins  of  a  house  of  the 
Roman  period,  upon  which  the  letters 


were  engraved.  The  thought  arose  that  the  stone  belonged  to  the  very  syna- 
gogue where  Paul  "  reasoned  .  .  .  every  sabbath,  and  persuaded  the  Jews  and 
the  Greeks."  The  inscription,  however,  is  much  later  than  the  apostolic  age  ; 
it  simply  proves  that  the  meeting-place,  made  famous  by  the  preaching  of 
Paul,  continued  to  flourish  down  to  a  very  late  period.  Compare  Dr.  Richard- 
son's article  in  the  Century,  1899,  p.  854. 


160  THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL. 

an  impossible  occurrence,  —  archaeological  evidence  shows 
the  fact  to  be  absolutely  true.  I  have  already  spoken  in 
"  Pagan  and  Christian  Rome,"  p.  16,  of  the  funeral  tablet 
found  at  Ostia  in  1867,  inscribed  with  the  words  "  Sacred 
to  the  memory  of  Marcus  Anneus  Paulus  Petrus,  son  of 
Marcus  Anneus  Paulus,"  which  gives  us  the  proof  of  the 
bond  of  sympathy  and  esteem  established  between  the  An- 
nei  —  Seneca,  the  consul  suffectus  at  the  time  of  the  first 
trial  of  St.  Paul ;  his  brother  Gallic,  governor  of  Achaia 
—  and  the  founders  of  the  church  in  Rome.  No  wonder 
that  Tertullian,  "  De  Anima,"  xx.,  should  call  the  first, 
"  Seneca  ssepe  noster  "  (Seneca  very  often  one  of  ours)  ! 

How  strange  it  seems  that  students  and  visitors  in  gen- 
eral should  pay  so  little  attention  to  the  grave  of  this  re- 
markable man,  remains  of  which  have  been  found  at  the 
fourth  milestone  of  the  Via  Appia,  on  the  left  or  east  side 
of  the  road  ! 

L.  Annaeus  Seneca,  son  of  the-rhetorician  Marcus,  a  Span- 
iard by  birth,  a  Roman  by  residence,  banished  to  Corsica, 
A.  D.  41,  on  the  suggestion  of  Messalina,  was  called  back  to 
the  capital  in  49,  and  made  the  tutor  of  the  young  Domitius. 
On  the  accession  of  his  pupil  to  the  imperial  throne,  under 
the  name  of  Nero,  Seneca  became  one  of  his  chief  advisers, 
exerting  his  influence  to  check  his  vicious  propensities,  but 
taking  advantage  at  the  same  time  of  his  place  of  trust  to 
amass  an  immense  fortune.  His  suburban  villas  of  Alba, 
Nomentum,  Bajae,  etc.,  vied  in  extent  and  magnificence 
with  those  belonging  to  the  crown,  especially  one,  located 
four  miles  outside  the  Porta  Capena,  which  Juvenal  calls 
"  magni  horti "  and  Tacitus  "  suburbanum  rus."  The  con- 
spiracy of  Piso,  A.  D.  65,  gave  Nero  the  long-sought-for 
pretext  to  get  rid  of  the  ill-tolerated  adviser  ;  and  although 
there  was  little  or  no  evidence  of  his  being  a  party  to  the 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL.     161 

plot,  his  death  was  decided  upon.  Seneca,  suffering  from 
asthma,  had  stopped  for  rest,  on  his  return  from  Campania, 
at  his  villa  on  the  Appian  Way,  when  Granius  Silvanus,  tri- 
bune of  one  of  the  praetorian  cohorts,  surrounded  the  estate 


Portrait  bust  of  Seneca. 

with  his  men,  and  showed  the  doomed  man  the  death  war- 
rant. Without  betraying  any  emotion,  "  Seneca  cheered  his 
weeping  friends  by  reminding  them  of  the  lessons  of  philoso- 
phy. Embracing  his  wife,  Pompeia  Paulina,  he  prayed  her 
to  moderate  her  grief,  and  to  console  herself  for  the  loss  of 
her  husband  by  the  reflection  that  he  had  lived  an  honor- 
able life.  But  as  Paulina  protested  that  she  would  die  with 


162     THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL. 

him,  Seneca  consented,  and  the  veins  in  the  arms  of  both 
were  opened.  Seneca's  body  was  attenuated  by  age  and 
meagre  diet,  perhaps  also  from  his  attacks  of  asthma;  the 
blood  would  not  flow  easily,  and  he  opened  the  veins  in  his 
legs.  His  torture  was  excessive ;  and  to  save  himself  and 
his  wife  the  pain  of  seeing  one  another  suffer,  he  bade  her 
retire  to  her  chamber.  His  last  words  were  taken  down  in 
writing  by  persons  who  were  called  in  for  the  purpose,  and 
were  afterwards  published.  Seneca's  torments  being  still 
prolonged,  he  took  hemlock  from  his  friend  and  physician, 
Statius  Annseus,  but  it  had  no  effect.  At  last  he  entered 
a  warm  bath,  and  as  he  sprinkled  some  of  the  water  on 
the  slaves  nearest  to  him,  he  said  that  he  made  a  libation 
to  Jupiter  the  Liberator.  He  was  then  taken  into  a  vapor 
bath,  where  he  was  quickly  suffocated.  Seneca  died,  as 
was  the  fashion  among  the  Romans,  with  the  courage  of  a 
Stoic,  but  with  somewhat  of  a  theatrical  affectation  which 
detracts  from  the  dignity  of  the  scene."  1 

When  the  Appian  Way  was  excavated  in  1852—53  by 
order  of  Pius  IX.  some  reminders  of  the  philosopher's  fate 
were  discovered  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  fourth  mile- 
stone :  the  lid  of  a  sarcophagus  representing  the  death  of 
Atys,  son  of  Cresus  (a  subject  evidently  chosen  as  a  veiled 
'  allusion  to  the  death  of  Seneca  himself),  a  marble  head 
showing  a  remarkable  likeness  to  his  well-known  features, 
and  other  fragments  of  a  tomb  of  the  first  century.  All 
these  relics  were  set  up  by  Canina  on  the  spot  on  which 
they  had  come  to  light,  as  shown  in  the  accompanying  illus- 
tration. However,  as  Seneca  was  almost  certainly  cremated 
and  not  inhumated,  the  sarcophagus  cannot  pertain  to  him, 
though  the  resemblance  of  the  head  to  the  inscribed  por- 
trait of  the  Villa  Mattei  cannot  be  questioned.  Another 

1  Marindin,  in  Smith's  Classical  Dictionary,  ed.  1894,  p.  863. 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL.     163 


The  Via  Appia  by  the  so-called  tomb  of  Seneca. 

reminder  of  the  same  event  is  to  be  found  in  the  inscription 
discovered  by  Nibby  and  Gell,  while  surveying  this  section 
of  the  road  in  1824,  in  which  mention  is  made  of  a  Quintns 
Granius  Labeo,  son  of  Marcus,  tribune  of  the  third  legion.1 
If  we  recollect  that  Granius  was  the  name  of  the  officer  of 
the  same  rank,  Nero's  messenger  of  death  to  Seneca,  that 
he  was  given  in  recompense  for  his  services  the  very  villa 
in  which  the  tragedy  had  taken  place,  and  that,  after  his 
suicide  in  66,  the  property  must  have  been  inherited  by  a 
near  relative,  we  cannot  help  connecting  the  tomb  of  the 
Granii  with  that  of  Seneca  himself. 

To  come  back  to  the  grave  of  St.  Paul :  tradition  says 
that  his  body  was  claimed  from  the  executioner  by  the  in- 
evitable matron  Lucina  ~  and  laid  to  rest  in  certain  catacombs 

1  Corpus  Inscr.  vol.  vi.  3521. 

2  This  merciful  lady,  if  we  believe  the  agiographs  of  a  later  age,  seems  to 
have  been  connected  with  the  most  famous  executions  of  Christians  from  the 
apostolic  age  to  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century. 


164  THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL. 

which  the  pious  lady  owned  on  the  left  or  east  side  of  the 
Via  Ostiensis,  back  of  the  apse  of  the  present  church,  where 
the  sandstone  cliffs  of  the  Vigna  Salviucci  rise  to  the  height 
of  forty-two  metres  above  the  valley  of  the  Tiber.  Here 
the  sacred  remains  rested  in  peace  until  the  persecution 
of  Valerian  (253-260),  when  Christian  cemeteries  were  con- 
fiscated for  the  first  time.  After  a  temporary  removal  to 
the  so-called  Platonia  near  the  present  church  of  St.  Sebas- 
tian, they  were  once  more  deposited  in  the  original  grave, 
in  the  rock-cut  catacombs  of  Lucina. 

I  have  already  explained  l  that,  when  memorial  churches 
were  raised  over  and  around  the  tombs  of  martyrs,  after 
the  peace  of  the  church,  the  tombs  themselves  were  never 
touched,  altered,  removed,  raised,  or  sunk.  If  the  rock  in 
the  heart  of  which  the  catacombs  were  excavated  stood  in 
the  way,  and  made  it  impossible  to  give  the  memorial  build- 
ing the  required  form  in  length,  in  breadth,  and  in  height, 
the  rock  was  cut  away.  This  was  done  in  accordance  with 
two  rules :  first,  that  the  tomb  of  the  hero  should  occupy 
the  place  of  honor  in  the  centre  of  the  apse  ;  secondly,  that 
the  body  of  the  church  should  extend  east  of  the  tomb. 

Applying  these  principles  to  the  case  of  St.  Paul,  it  was 
generally  admitted  that  Constantine  the  Great  had  cut  away 
the  spur  of  rock  containing  the  catacombs  of  Lucina,  leav- 
ing only  the  grave  of  the  Apostle  in  situ.  The  Liber 
Pontificalis  adds  that  the  grave  was  encased  by  the  same 
emperor  in  a  strong  room  or  cella,  made  of  solid  sheets  of 
bronze,  five  feet  long,  five  broad,  five  high.  The  belief  in 
this  state  of  things,  viz.,  that  St.  Paul  was  actually  buried 
in  a  rock-cut  catacomb,  was  so  firmly  rooted  among  Chris- 
tian archaeologists  that  in  1867  Monsignor  Francis  Xavier 
de  Merode^  the  pugnacious  minister  of  war  of  Pius  IX., 

1  Pagan  and  Christian  Rome,  p.  119. 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL.  165 

and  a  great  lover  of  Christian  antiquities,  purchased  the 
Vigna  Salviucci — where  the  rock  stands  —  with  the  view  of 
making  clear  the  connection  between  the  catacombs  and  the 
present  grave. 

Several  Christian  crypts  were,  to  be  sure,  discovered  in  the 
Vigna  Salviucci  and  in  its  neighborhood,  which  de  Rossi 
identified  with  those  of  Timotheus,  Felix  and  Adauctus,  and 
Commodilla,  mentioned  in  the  earliest  pilgrim-books,  but 
no  trace  of  the  alleged  catacombs  of  Lucina  was  found,  or 
has  been  found  since.  The  solution  of  the  problem  has 
been  obtained  within  the  last  few  months  in  the  following; 

O 

way. 

The  scheme  for  the  sanitation  and  drainage  of  Rome, 
which  has  been  carried  into  execution  at  a  great  cost  since 
1870,  involves  the  construction  of  two  main  sewers  about 
ten  miles  long,  one  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Tiber  running 
parallel  with  the  Via  Campana  and  emptying  into  the  river 
at  la  Magliana,  one  on  the  left  bank  running  parallel  with 
the  Via  Ostiensis  and  joining  the  Tiber  at  Torre  di  Valle. 

This  last  leaves  the  City  at  the  western  end  of  the  Pro- 
testant cemetery  by  the  pyramid  of  Cains  Cestius,  crosses 
the  road  to  Ostia  a  thousand  yards  outside  the  gate,  and 
runs  between  the  apse  of  St.  Paul's  and  the  rock  where  the 
apocryphal  catacombs  of  Lucina  were  said  to  be,  cutting 
the  disputed  ground  at  the  depth  of  thirty-four  feet.  Such 
a  deep  excavation,  so  near  the  grave  of  the  Apostle,  was 
expected  to  give  us  the  solution  of  the  many  problems  con- 
nected with  it.  However,  before  giving  the  account  of 
what  has  been  found  and  of  the  results  obtained,  I  must 
bring  back  to  the  memory  of  the  reader  the  discoveries 
made  before  the  present  day. 

The  marble  casing  of  the  grave  of  the  Apostle  was  seen 
for  the  first  time  on  July  28, 1838,  when  the  altar  above  it, 


166     THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL. 

injured  by  the  fire  of  July  15,  1823,  was  demolished  to 
make  room  for  the  present  one.  A  marble  floor  was  dis- 
covered composed  of  four  slabs,  on  which  the  dedication 

PAVLO   APOSTOLO   MART(yri) 

is  engraved  in  large  letters  of  the  time  of  Constantine.  The 
slabs  and  their  precious  inscription  were  left  visible  under 
the  new  canopy,  and  I  have  myself  had  the  privilege  of 
studying  them  at  leisure  (on  December  1,  1891),  by  lower- 
ing myself  on  hands  and  knees  through  the  "  fenestella 
confessionis."  Two  things  we  must  bear  in  mind :  first, 
that  the  slabs  inscribed  with  the  name  of  Paul  are  not  in 
their  original  position,  but  appear  to  have  been  replaced 
over  the  grave  most  negligently,  in  a  slanting  direction ; 
secondly,  that  the  inscription  is  mutilated  at  the  right  end, 
the  last  three  letters  of  the  word  MART(?/H)  being  missing. 
Other  discoveries  took  place  in  1850,  when  Pius  IX.  was 
laying  the  foundations  of  the  new  canopy  ;  they  are  of  par- 
amount interest  for  the  question  we  are  investigating.  It 
was  then  ascertained  that  Paul's  grave  stands  on  the  mar- 
gin of  an  old  road,  paved  with  blocks  of  lava,  amidst  other 
tombs  of  purely  pagan  type.  According  to  the  evidence 
of  an  eye-witness,  Father  Paul  Zelly,  who  was  then  abbot  of 
St.  Paul's,  the  old  road  runs  at  a  distance  of  fifteen  feet 
west  of  the  grave,  and  at  an  angle  of  about  14°  with  the 
Via  Ostiensis,  into  which  it  runs  lower  down.  Besides  the 
Apostle's  grave  there  were  the  remains  of  a  columbaria 
or  square  sepulchral  chamber  with  pigeonholes  for  cinerary 
urns.  This  tomb  was  found  almost  intact,  but  it  seems 
that  no  attention  was  paid  to  it,  no  drawings  taken,  and  no 
copies  made  of  the  inscriptions  which  probably  accompanied 
each  pigeonhole.  I  have  lately  come  into  possession  of 
some  notes,  taken  at  the  time  of  these  finds  by  Vespignani 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL.     167 


the  elder,  who  acted  as  assistant  to  Luigi  Poletti,  the  re- 
builder  of  St.  Paul's,  but  they  are  of  no  special  importance. 
The  objects  put  aside  "  nel  cavo  della  seconda  confessione 
in  settembre  1850  "  l  were  the  tombstones  of  a  C.  Julius 
Berullus  and  of  a 
Priscilla,  both  pre- 
ceded by  the  invo- 
cation Diis  Mani- 
bus  ;  two  Christian 
ones,  several  brick 
stamps  from  the 
kilns  of  Faustina 
the  elder,  and  one 
from  the  Officina 
Fauriana.  They  do 
not  throw  much 
light  on  the  ques- 
tion; and  yet  we 
are  sure  that  if 
proper  attention 
had  been  paid  to 
these  excavations, 
and  a  more  careful 
search  made  among 

the      tombs       and  A  view  of  the  tomb  and  canopy  of  St.  Paul. 

columbaria  which 

lined  that  bit  of  road,  we  should  now  know  the  name  of 

the  personage  who  had  given  the  first  disciples  of  Christ  in 

Rome  the  permission  to  bury  St.  Paul  in  his  own  family 

burial-plot. 

The  cutting  for  the  main  sewer  has  revealed  the  follow- 
ing facts.     First,  there  is  no  connection  whatever  between 

1  In  the  foundations  of  the  new  Confession,  September,  1850. 


168     THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL. 

the  grave  of  St.  Paul  and  the  many  Christian  catacombs 
with  which  the  rock  of  the  Vigna  Salviucci  is  honey- 
combed. 

Secondly,  these  catacombs  belong  at  all  events  to  a  much 
later  period  than  the  apostolic  age.  Boldetti  claims  to  have 
read  in  one  of  them  the  date  of  the  year  107,  marked  with 
the  consulship  of  Sura  and  Senecio,  and  that  of  the  year  111, 
marked  with  the  consulship  of  Piso  and  Bolanus.  These 
are  certainly  the  oldest  dates  ever  discovered  in  Roman 
catacombs ;  but  even  granted  that  Boldetti  has  made  no 
mistake,  they  are  at  all  events  forty  years  more  recent  than 
the  execution  of  St.  Paul. 

Thirdly,  the  whole  neighborhood,  from  the  foot  of  the 
rock  to  the  middle  of  the  fields  in  which  the  basilica  stands, 
is  thickly  covered  with  pagan  tombs  of  the  first  and  second 
centuries.  In  the  space  of  a  few  weeks  not  less  than  183 
of  them  have  been  discovered  in  the  cutting  of  the  drain 
alone. 

Fourthly,  these  tombs  are  placed  and  oriented  on  the 
lines  of  two  Roman  roads  ;  namely,  the  Via  Ostiensis  — 
which  fits  exactly  into  the  modern  one  —  and  a  branch  road 
which  connects  the  towpath  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Tiber 
with  the  same  Via  Ostiensis.  To  this  branch  road  belongs 
the  pavement  discovered  in  1850  in  the  foundations  of  the 
canopy. 

In  the  fifth  place,  the  person  who  claimed ,  the  body  of 
the  Apostle  after  the  execution,  be  it  the  matron  Lucina 
or  not,  owned  not  a  catacomb,  but  a  burial-plot  in  the  open 
—  "  sub  diu  "  —  in  the  angle  formed  by  the  junction  of  the 
two  roads.  Here,  nearer  to  the  side  lane  than  to  the  main 
road,  a  tomb  was  raised  to  St.  Paul.  We  do  not  know  of 
what  nature,  size,  shape,  the  tomb  was  ;  whether  it  bore  an 
inscription  or  not.  If  we  are  to  believe  the  Liber  Pontifi- 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL.     169 

calis,  the  authority  of  which  after  the  recent  edition  of 
Duchesne  is  above  suspicion,  the  grave  itself  must  have 
been  small.  "  Eodem  tempore  fecit  Constantinus  basilicam 
beato  Paulo  Apostolo  .  .  .  cuius  corpus  ita  recondit  in  sere, 
et  conclusit  sicut  Beati  Petri."  Now  the  case  of  solid 
metal,  inside  of  which  Constantino  sealed  the  body  of  St. 
Peter,  was  five  feet  long,  five  wide,  five  high.  Five  Ro- 
man feet  equal  1.478  metres.  The  mean  height  of  the 
human  body  being  1.58,  the  case  appears  too  small.  It  is 
impossible  to  think  that  the  body  of  Paul  was  incinerated, 
and  the  ashes  preserved  in  a  cinerary  urn  ;  and  even  granted 
that  he  was  of  a  stature  below  the  average,  the  coffin  in 
which  he  was  laid  to  rest  would  certainly  have  exceeded  the 
measure  of  five  feet.  I  agree  with  Stevenson  that  the  fig- 
ures have  been  altered  by  the  carelessness  of  early  copyists 
of  the  Liber  Pontificalia. 

Another  explanation  offered  for  the  short  measure  of  the 
case  is  that  the  Apostle  having  been  beheaded,  the  head 
may  not  necessarily  have  been  placed  in  its  right  position. 
If  I  remember  rightly,  twice  tombs  of  beheaded  men  have 
been  discovered  since  the  revival  of  classic  studies  :  one 
at  Cuma,  one  in  the  Vatican  district,  when  Pope  Paul  III. 
was  digging  for  the  foundations  of  the  Bastione  di  Belve- 
dere. This  bastion  occupies  part  of  the  site  of  the  ancient 
cemetery  of  the  Via  Triumphalis.  Among  the  many  tombs 
and  columbaria  discovered  on  that  occasion,  one  belonged 
to  a  decapitated  person.  Ligorio  describes  the  find  in 
the  following  words  ("Bodleian,"  p.  139):  "There  was 
also  a  sepulchral  chamber  decorated  with  stucco  reliefs  and 
paintings,  in  which  a  walnut  cut  out  of  an  agate  was  dis- 
covered ;  ...  it  was  lying  near  a  skeleton  which  had  the 

1  "  At  the  same  time  Constantine  built  the  church  of  St.  Paul,  enclosing  his 
body  in  a  case  of  solid  metal,  as  he  had  done  for  St.  Peter." 


170     THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL. 

skull  not  in  its  proper  place,  but  across  the  legs  ;  and  where 
the  skull  should  have  been,  there  lay  a  perfect  and  beauti- 
ful plaster  mould  of  the  head  of  the  buried  man.  This 
plaster  mould  was  removed  to  the  private  collection  of  the 
Pope." 

In  the  sixth  place,  it  has  been  ascertained  that  the  mean 
level  of  the  tombs  which  line  the  two  roads  is  eleven  feet 
lower  than  the  level  of  the  modern  road,  and  about  nine 
feet  below  that  of  the  nave  and  aisles  of  the  church. 

Comparing  these  data  with  the  finds  of  1850,  Stevenson 


The  Via  Ostiensis  flooded  by  the  Tiber. 

comes  to  the  conclusion  that  the  grave  itself  must  lie  about 
twelve  feet  and  six  inches  below  the  floor  of  the  transept, 
and  only  eleven  feet  above  the  mean  level  of  the  Tiber, 
which  runs  close  by.  Now  it  is  a  known  fact  that  the  Tiber 
reaches  that  height  fifteen  times  a  year  at  least,  not  to 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL.     171 

speak  of  extraordinary  inundations,  like  the  one  of  1870, 
in  the  course  of  which  the  waters  rose  twenty-six  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  grave.  We  may  safely  conclude,  therefore, 
that  the  Apostle  was  buried  in  a  low,  damp,  almost  swampy 
field,  permanently  exposed  to  the  overflow  of  the  river,  un- 
less precautions  had  been  taken  to  keep  the  waters  off  by 
means  of  levees  and  embankments  and  sluices,  of  which  we 
know  absolutely  nothing.  The  metal  case  of  Constantine 
may  have  saved  the  grave  from  the  inflow  of  water  after 
the  erection  of  the  church. 

Has  the  venerable  grave  come  down  to  us  intact  since  the 
time  of  Constantine  ?  The  question  is  more  easily  put  than 
answered.  The  church,  to  be  sure,  went  safely  through  the 
barbaric  invasions,  being  considered  an  inviolable  asylum 
even  by  the  Goths  and  the  Vandals.  Of  this  fact  we  have 
the  evidence  in  Epistles  54  and  127  of  St.  Jerome,  where 
he  describes  the  fate  of  Marcella,  the  founder  of  monastic 
life  in  Rome.  "  This  noble  matron  was  left  a  widow  after 
seven  months  of  marriage,  and  being  pressed  by  the  Con- 
sul Cerealis  to  marry  again,  determined  to  sever  all  connec- 
tion with  the  world  for  the  rest  of  her  life.  Following  the 
rule  of  St.  Athanasius,  Bishop  of  Alexandria,  she  dressed 
herself  in  simple  garb,  gave  up  the  use  of  wine  and  meat, 
and  divided  her  time  between  the  study  of  the  Scriptures, 
prayers,  and  pilgrimages  to  the  tombs  of  apostles  and  mar- 
tyrs. St.  Jerome  became  Marcella's  spiritual  adviser ;  such 
was  the  serenity  and  beauty  of  her  character  that  in  one 
of  her  letters  she  is  addressed  as  'the  pride  of  Roman 
matrons.'  However,  when  Rome  became  the  prey  of  the 
Goths,  the  barbarians  broke  into  her  peaceful  retreat  and 
tortured  her  in  an  attempt  to  discover  the  secret  hiding- 
place  of  her  treasures,  —  treasures  that  she  had  long  before 
given  up  to  the  needy.  Fearing  more  for  the  safety  of 


172     THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL. 

Principia,  whom  she  had  adopted  as  a  spiritual  daughter, 
than  for  her  own  life,  she  threw  herself  at  the  feet  of  the 
Gothic  chieftain  and  begged  to  be  conducted  to  the  church 
of  St.  Paul  outside  the  walls,  which,  like  St.  Peter's,  had 
been  set  apart  by  Alaric  as  a  refuge  for  women  and  chil- 
dren." 

The  Saracenic  invasion  of  846  makes,  however,  an  excep- 
tion to  the  rule.  It  would  be  impossible  to  discuss  within 
the  limits  of  the  present  chapter  all  the  arguments  brought 
forward  to  prove  or  disprove  the  profanation  of  the  tombs 
of  Peter  and  Paul  in  846.  Leaving  aside  the  question 
of  Peter,  of  which  I  have  spoken  at  length  in  "  Pagan 
and  Christian  Rome,"  p.  148,  and  in  "  The  Destruction  of 
Ancient  Rome,"  p.  131,  there  is  unfortunately  no  doubt 
that  the  infidels  plundered  at  their  leisure  the  Basilica  of 
St.  Paul,  and  laid  their  hands  on  the  venerable  tomb.  We 
find  the  evidence  of  this  fact  in  chapter  xxii.  of  the  Life  of 
Benedict  III.,  in  Duchesne's  edition  of  the  Liber  Pontifi- 
calis,  vol.  ii.  p.  145  :  SEPULCHRUM  [Pauli  Apostoli]  QUOD  A 

SARRACENIS    DESTRUCTUM    FUERAT    PERORNAVIT  ! 

The  question  is,  what  did  the  Saracens  actually  destroy, 
—  the  altar  erected  high  above  the  grave,  the  canopy  or 
ciborium  which  covered  the  altar,  or  the  grave  itself  ?  I 
believe  that  the  expression  of  the  Liber  Pontificalis  is  not 
to  be  taken  in  too  literal  a  sense ;  for  why  should  Benedict 
III.  have  restored  and  redecorated  the  group  formed  by  the 
grave,  the  altar,  and  the  canopy,  if  the  grave  itself  had 
been  profaned  and  its  contents  scattered  to  the  four  winds  ? 
And  besides,  we  know  that  the  word  DESTRUCTUM,  "  de- 
stroyed," is  an  exaggeration ;  because  the  marble  slab  with 
the  epitaph  PAVLO  APOSTOLO  MART(?/H)  is  still  in  exist- 
ence, and  it  is  the  original  of  Constan tine's  time,  not  a  copy 
made  by  Benedict  III.  The  tomb  incurred  another  risk  in 


THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL.     173 


The  new  fagade  of  St.  Paul's. 

the  sack  of  1527,  when  the  scum  of  the  soldiery  from  Spain, 
Germany,  and  northern  Italy  pillaged  the  City  and  its  sacred 
edifices  for  the  space  of  several  weeks.  L.  Mayerhofer, 
in  the  "  Historisches  Jahrbuch,"  1891,  p.  721,  has  pub- 
lished a  letter  written  by  an  eye-witness,  a  clerk  from 
Speyer  named  Theodoric  Vaf er  —  alias  Gescheid,  and  dated 
June  17  of  that  eventful  year,  in  which  he  expressly  says  : 
"  We  have  (or  they  have)  profaned  all  the  churches  of 
Rome  ;  men  and  women  have  been  slain  over  the  altar  of 
St.  Peter's  ;  the  tomb  or  coffin  inside  which  the  remains 
of  Peter  and  Paul  had  been  laid  to  rest  has  been  broken 
open,  and  the  relics  dispersed "  ( Urnam  sive  tumbam, 
in  qua  requiescebant  ossa  S.  Petri  et  Pauli  effregerunt  et 
ipsas  reUquias  profanarunt).  One  thing  is  certain,  how- 
ever :  none  of  the  many  hundred  published  or  unpublished 
accounts  of  the  sack  of  1527,  consulted  by  Gregorovius, 


174     THE  TRUTH  ABOUT  THE  GRAVE  OF  ST.  PAUL. 

Grisar,  Orano,  and  other  specialists,  mention  this  incident, 
which,  considering  the  extraordinary  devotion  of  the  Romans 
to  the  founders  of  the  church,  would  have  caused  them 
greater  grief  than  all  the  horrors,  massacres,  tortures  they 
endured  in  those  days.  Briefly  my  opinion  is  this  :  The 
grave  of  St.  Paul  has  come  down  to  us,  most  likely,  as  it 
was  left  by  Constantino  the  Great,  enclosed  in  a  metal  case. 
The  Saracens  of  846  damaged  the  outside  marble  casing 
and  the  marble  epitaph,  but  did  not  reach  the  grave.  As 
to  the  nature  of  the  grave  itself,  its  shape,  its  aspect,  its  con- 
tents, I  am  afraid  our  curiosity  will  never  be  satisfied. 

This  most  fascinating  of  Roman  churches  is  closely  con- 
nected with  England  and  especially  dear  to  the  Anglo-Saxon 
race.  As  the  emperor  of  Austria  was  the  protector  of  St. 
Peter's,  the  king  of  France  of  St.  John  Lateran,  the  king 
of  Spain  of  S.  Maria  Maggiore,  so  the  kings  of  England 
were  the  defenders  of  St.  Paul  outside  the  walls.  In  the 
shield  of  the  abbot,  above  the  gate  of  the  adjoining  clois- 
ters, we  still  behold  the  arm  grasping  the  sword,  and  the 
ribbon  of  the  Garter  with  the  motto  :  "  Honi  soit  qui  mal 
y  pense ! " 


CHAPTER  V. 

STRANGE    SUPERSTITIONS    IN    ROME. 

IN  perusing  the  first  part  of  the  sixth  volume  of  the 
"  Corpus  Inscriptionum  Latinarum,"  which  contains  about 
a  thousand  dedications  to  gods  and  goddesses,1  found  in 
Rome  or  in  its  immediate  vicinity,  we  are  struck  by  the 
variety  and  strangeness  of  names  which  appear  in  the  roll. 
No  nation  has  ever  shown  such  liberality  in  opening  the 
gates  of  its  Olympus  to  newcomers  as  the  Romans  have 
done.  What  the  Gospel  says  of  the  centurion  detached  at 
Capernaum,  and  of  his  inquiries  into  the  Jewish  religion, 
may  be  applied  to  a  great  many  other  officers  and  magis- 
trates in  charge  of  Roman  interests  in  the  far-away  prov- 
inces of  the  Empire ;  in  fact  every  soldier,  every  sailor  who 
came  back  to  his  native  place,  on  receiving  the  "  honesta 
missio,"  carried  with  him  fresh  superstitions  gathered  from 
the  more  or  less  civilized  lands  in  which  he  had  kept 
garrison.  Another  source  of  corruption  of  the  simple  old 
Roman  religion  may  be  found  in  the  harbors  of  Ostia  and 
Portus,  where  thousands  of  ships  landed  every  year  from 
every  corner  of  the  Mediterranean,  the  crews  of  which  were 
allowed  to  worship  in  their  own  fashion,  under  the  guid- 
ance of  their  consul,  or  "  proxenos,"  who  was  invested  at  the 
same  time  with  the  functions  of  "  archiereus,"  or  high  priest. 
The  authorities  at  Rome,  both  clerical  and  civil,  tried  to 
stop  the  invasion  of  foreign  deities  and  the  import  of  for- 

1  Pars  prima  Inscriptiones  Sacrce,  pp.  1-150,  nn.  1-871  (appendix,  nn.  3671- 
3744*).     Two  or  three  hundred  more  have  been  found  since  1876. 


176           STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME. 

eign  mysteries,  with  little  or  no  result.  I  was  present  many 
years  ago  at  the  discovery  of  a  foreign  lodge,  or  "  mega- 
rum,"  in  the  harbor  of  Porto,  where  the  adepts  of  the  wor- 
ship of  Isis  and  Serapis  held  their  meetings ;  and  in  giving 
an  account  of  the  find  (in  "  Bullettino  dell'  Institute  "  of 
1868,  p.  227)  I  was  led  to  inquire  into  the  legal  condition 
of  these  adepts  in  respect  to  Rdman  religious  legislation. 
I  must  acknowledge  that  no  decided  line  of  action  was  ever 
followed  in  dealing  with  these  intruders.  Periods  of  tol- 
erance succeeded  outbursts  of  persecution,  and  vice  versa, 
until  the  adepts  were  almost  forced  to  seek  safety  in  secrecy. 
Hence  the  great  number  of  "  Mithrsea,"  "  Metroa," 
"  megara,"  sacred  caves  and  lodges,  found  daily  in  Rome 
and  its  neighborhood.  We  must  also  remember  that  when 
the  garrison  and  the  police  of  Rome  were  no  longer  allowed 
by  Septimius  Severus  to  be  drafted  from  the  ranks  of  Ro- 
man citizens,  but  from  the  semi-barbarian  tribes  of  the  lower 
Rhine  and  of  the  lower  Danube,  the  men  brought  over 

7  O 

with  them  their  own  gods,  their  deol  Trar/owot,  whom  they 
could  worship  in  their  barracks  with  absolute  impunity. 
This  state  of  things  has  been  beautifully  illustrated  by  the 
finds  made  in  the  barracks  of  the  "  Equites  Singulares,"  in 
that  part  of  the  old  Villa  Giustiniaui,  near  by  the  Lateran, 
which  is  now  crossed  by  the  Via  Tasso. 

These  "  Equites  Singulares  Augusti "  formed  a  select 
body  of  horsemen,  attached  to  the  person  of  the  Emperor, 
like  our  life-guards  or  "cuirassiers  du  roi."  They  were 
drafted  mostly  from  amongst  the  Thracians,  the  Bata- 
vians,  the  Pannonians,  and  the  Mcesians,  in  contrast  to  the 
Prsetorians,  who  were  taken  in  preference  from  the  Spanish 
and  Gaulish  provinces,  and  even  from  Italy.  The  Equi- 
tes Singulares,  who  wore  helmets  without  plumes,  and  car- 
ried oval  shields,  swords,  and  lances,  formed  a  regiment 


THE   BACCHUS   DISCOVERED   IN   THE   BARRACKS   OF  THE 
EQUITES    SINGULARES 


STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME.  179 

one  thousand  strong,  divided  into  two  squadrons,  quartered 
respectively  in  the  old  barracks  (castra  prlora  or  veterd) 
discovered  between  1885  and  1887  in  the  Via  Tasso,  and 
the  new  barracks  (castra  nova  or  Severiana)  discovered 
in  1733  or  1734  in  the  foundations  of  the  Corsini  Chapel 
at  the  Lateran. 

We  may  gather  an  idea  of  the  extent  of  these  barracks 
from  the  fact  that  the  present  church  of  St.  John  Lateran 
and  the  adjoining  palace  of  Sixtus  V.  occupy  only  a  section 
of  the  last  named  barracks,1  and  we  may  appreciate  the 
splendor  of  their  fittings  and  decorations  from  the  works 
of  art  which  have  come  to  light  within  their  boundaries. 
Such  are  the  marble  chair,  now  in  the  Corsini  Library,  the 
low  reliefs  of  which  represent  a  procession  of  warriors,  a 
boar  hunt,  and  sacrificial  ceremonies,  the  work  of  a  Greek 
chisel ;  and  the  marble  statue  of  Bacchus  now  in  the  Villa 
Maraini  at  Lugano,  an  illustration  of  which  is  here  given. 

The  greatest  and  happiest  event  in  the  life  of  a  Roman 
soldier  was  his  receiving  the  "  honesta  missio,"  or  honora- 
ble discharge,  after  serving  the  required  number  of  years. 
During  the  Republic  the  legionaries  were  bound  to  serve 
from  sixteen  to  twenty  campaigns,  the  horsemen  only  ten. 
Under  Augustus  the  term  for  the  legionaries  was  reduced  to 
sixteen  years,  while  the  city  garrison  served  for  twenty,  and 
the  auxiliaries  for  twenty-five  ;  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  we 
find  soldiers  commonly  retained  in  the  service  as  "  evocati " 
long  after  their  legal  enlistment  had  expired,  such  as  T. 

1  The  church  is  cut  in  two  by  a  Roman  street,  which  runs  parallel  with  the 
transept  of  Clement  VIII.,  passes  under  the  canopy  of  Urban  V.,  and  leads  to  a 
postern  in  the  walls  of  Aurelian  below  the  "  Giardino  dei  Penitenzieri."  Con- 
stantine,  after  disbanding  (the  Praetorians  and)  the  Singulares,  made  a  present 
of  their  empty  barracks  to  Pope  Miltiades  in  313,  for  the  erection  of  the  "  Mo- 
ther and  Head  of  all  the  churches  of  the  city  and  of  the  world,"  and  gave  up 
also  a  small  section  of  his  own  imperial  Lateran  palace,  west  of  the  street. 


180          STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME. 

Cillius  from  Laranda,  who  died  at  the  age  of  seventy  after 
serving  thirty-eight  years  in  the  eleventh  legion,  and  Clau- 
dius Celer  from  Verona,  who  had  enlisted  at  twenty  and 
died  at  sixty-three,  without  giving  up  his  commission.1  After 
Hadrian's  time  soldiers  did  not  obtain  their  discharge  till 
they  had  seen  twenty-five  years'  service,  but  during  the  last 
five  years  they  were  released  from  the  harder  duties.  There 
were  three  kinds  of  discharges  :  the  "  honesta  missio,"  when 
they  received  the  full  recompense  for  their  long  and  faith- 
ful services ;  the  "  causaria,"  when  they  were  dismissed  for 
physical  incapacity  or  sickness ;  and  the  "  ignominiosa," 
when  they  were  ignominiously  cashiered  and  drummed  out 
before  the  whole  army. 

The  day  of  the  honesta  missio,  when  the  men  secured 
either  a  piece  of  land  or  a  lump  sum  of  five  thousand  dena- 
rii, or  nine  hundred  dollars,  besides  the  rights  of  citizen- 
ship and  of  contracting  a  regular  marriage  (civitas  et  con- 
nubium),  was  celebrated  by  the  gallant  veterans  with  a  loud 
display  of  loyalty  towards  the  Emperor  who  had  signed 
the  decree,  and  of  gratitude  towards  the  gods  who  had 
preserved  their  lives  through  the  hardships  and  dangers  of 
so  many  campaigns.  As  a  rule,  the  veterans  discharged  on 
the  same  day  and  by  the  same  decree  joined  forces,  and 
each  contributed  his  own  share  towards  the  erection  of  a 
monument  which  took  generally  the  shape  of  an  "  a3di- 
cula"  or  shrine  when  offered  to  the  gods,  or  that  of  a 
statue  and  a  pedestal  when  offered  to  the  sovereign. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  wonderful  sight  we  beheld  on 
entering  the  vestibule  of  the  old  barracks  of  the  Equites 
•Singulares  in  the  Via  Tasso.  The  noble  hall  was  found  to 
contain  forty-four  marble  pedestals,  some  still  standing  in 
their  proper  places  against  the  wall  facing  the  entrance, 

1  Corpus  Inscr.  vol.  iii.  nn.  2818,  2834. 


STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME. 


181 


some  upset  on  the  marble  floor,  and  each  inscribed  with 
the  dedicatory  inscription  on  the  front  and  with  the  list 
of  subscribers  on  the  sides.  Some  bear  dedications  to  the 
Emperor  commander-in-chief,  as,  for  instance :  "  To  the 
Genius  of  our  Emperor  Antoninus  Pius.  The  Thracians 


A  statuette  of  Epona  discovered  at  Albano. 

honorably  dismissed  from  the  regiment  of  the  Equites 
Singulares  after  twenty-five  years  of  service,  and  whose 
names  are  engraved  on  the  sides  of  this  pedestal,  have 
raised  by  subscription  this  marble  statue  on  March  1st,  the 


182  STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME. 

Emperor  and  Bruttius  Praesens  being  consuls  for  the  second 
time  (A.  D.  139)."  Then  follow  thirty-nine  names,  of  which 
one  is  original,  —  Seutheus,  —  the  rest  are  Latinized. 

More  difficult  must  have  been  the  wording  of  the  dedica- 
tions to  the  gods,  because  each  of  the  subscribers  had  his 
own  "  santo  protettore,"  as  we  Italians  say,  and  wanted  to 
tender  to  him,  personally,  the  expression  of  his  gratitude. 
Sometimes  not  less  than  eighteen  names  of  gods  occur  on 
a  single  stone  raised  by  thirty  or  thirty-five  men,  of  which 
some  are  borrowed  from  the  Roman  temples,  some  from 
the  dolmens  and  menhirs  of  their  native  lands.  To  this 
last  class  belong  Epona,  the  goddess  of  stables  and  beasts 
of  burden,  whose  name  of  Celtic  origin  is  derived  from  epus, 
horse  ;  the  Fatse,  corresponding  in  number  and  nature  to 
the  Roman  Fates,  to  the  Greek  Mot/acu,  and  to  the  Ger- 
man Nornir ;  the  Matres  or  Matronse,  also  three  in  number, 
haunting  the  forests  watered  by  the  Rhine  and  the  Danube, 
like  the  Sulevae  or  Sulevia3,  female  geniuses  of  those  dark 
and  mysterious  leafy  recesses,  addicted  to  the  kidnapping  of 
children  ;  Noreia,  the  genius  of  the  ancient  capital  of  the 
Taurisci  in  Noricum  ;  Toutates  and  Hercules  Magusanus, 
worshipped  by  the  Batavi  ;  Deus  Sabadius,  worshipped  by 
the  Moesians ;  and  Beelefarus,  worshipped  by  the  dwellers 
in  the  land  of  Moab,  conquered  by  Trajan  in  106,  and  an- 
nexed to  the  Empire  under  the  name  of  Northern  Arabia. 

Among  the  vast  crowd  of  foreign  deities  worshipped  in 
Rome  I  shall  select  three  as  a  subject  of  study  for  the 
present  chapter,  the  Great  Mother  of  the  gods,  Mithras,  and 
Artemis  Taurica,  because  recent  excavations  have  allowed 
us  to  enter  over  and  over  again  into  the  secret  dens  where 
their  worshippers  assembled,  and  to  unravel  to  a  certain 
extent  the  mysteries  of  their  worship. 

For  the  convenience  of  those  among  my  readers  who  have 


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STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME.          185 

not    made  a  special    study  of    ancient  mythology,  I   shall 
briefly  state,  in  regard   to  Rhea  or  Cybele, .  that  she  wass 
supposed  to  be  the  mother  by  Chronos  of  Hestia,  Demeter, 
Hera,  Hades,  Poseidon,  and  Zeus.     Hence  her  Roman  title  ; 
of  Magna  deum  Mater,  the  Great  Mother  of  the  gods. 

Mithras,  the  god  of  the  sun  among  the  Persians,  became 
popular  in  Rome  under  the  name  of  Sol  Invictus.  He  is 
represented  in  innumerable  works  of  art  as  a  handsome 
youth,  wearing  the  Phrygian  attire,  and  slaying  a  bull  which 
he  has  brought  to  the  ground. 

The  Taurian  Artemis  was  an  hyperborean  goddess,  whom 
the  Romans  identified  with  Diana.  Her  worship  was  mys- 
tic and  orgiastic,  and  connected  —  at  least  in  early  times  — 
with  human  sacrifices  ;  in  fact,  all  strangers  shipwrecked  on 
the  coast  of  Chersonesus  Taurica  were  mercilessly  slain  on 
her  altar. 

Cybele  became  known  to  the  Romans  in  206  B.  c.,  when 
a  meteoric  stone  considered  to  represent  the  goddess  was 
brought  over  from  Pessinus,  and  placed  in  a  temple  raised 
expressly  on  the  west  corner  of  the  Palatine  Hill,  where  its 
ruins,  shaded  by  a  grove  of  ilexes,  stand  to  the  present  day. 
In  its  first  observance  the  feast  of  the  Great  Mother  of  the 
gods  was  a  mere  thanksgiving  for  the  aid  granted  to  the 
Roman  armies  in  the  Second  Punic  War  ;  later  on  it  be- 
came a  display  of  the  most  audacious  superstition,  and  gave 
origin  to  the  gathering  of  secret  societies,  imbued  with  the 
Phrygian  mysteries,  in  which  the  beautiful  Atys  played 
also  an  important  part.  The  myth  of  this  youth  is  rather 
vague.  The  version  current  at  Pessinus  was  that  Agdistis, 
the  androgynous  offspring  of  Uranus  and  Earth,  having 
been  mutilated  by  the  gods,  an  almond-tree  sprang  from 
her  blood,  the  fruit  of  which  was  gathered  by  Nana,  the 


156          STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME. 

daughter  of  the  river-god  Sangarius.  She  bore  a  son,  the 
fascinating  Atys,  reared  by  goats  in  the  mountains,  who 
afterwards  fell  in  love  with  the  royal  maiden  Sagaritis. 
Agdistis  or  Cybele,  stung  with  jealousy,  drove  him  des- 
perate, so  that  he  mutilated  himself  under  a  pine-tree,  into 
which  his  spirit  passed.  Violets  sprang  at  its  foot  from 
the  blood.  The  pine-tree,  therefore,  wreathed  with  violets 
became  a  sacred  emblem  of  Atys  in  the  wild  festivals  of 
Cybele,  whose  priests  were  eunuchs.1 

Their  joint  festival  in  Rome  began  on  March  15,  with 
a  procession  of  men  and  women  carrying  the  sacred  reed 
of  Atys.  On  March  22  the  sacred  pine  was  borne  to  the 
temple  on  the  Palatine.  March  24  was  kept  as  a  "  dies 
sanguinis,"  a  day  of  blood,  of  fast  and  mourning,  when  the 
high  priest  cut  his  arm  with  a  knife  to  commemorate  the 
self-inflicted  wound  of  the  god.  March  25  was  a  day  of 
rejoicing,  when  banquets  were  given,  the  extravagance  and 
luxury  of  which  became  so  intolerable  that  a  maximum  of 
expenditure  that  would  be  incurred  by  the  host  was  fixed 
by  a  decree  of  the  Senate  of  161  B.  c.  Lastly,  on  March 
25  a  procession  of  priests  followed  the  sacred  image  to  the 
first  milestone  on  the  road  to  Ostia,  where  it  was  washed  in 
the  waters  of  the  river  Almo. 

By  a  singular  coincidence  my  career  as  an  excavator  and 
as  a  student  of  antiquities  began  in  1867  under  the  auspices 
and  with  the  manifest  protection  of  the  Great  Mother  of  the 
gods. 

On  May  1,4  of  that  year,  while  my  late  friend  Carlo  Lu- 
dovico  Visconti  and  I  were  resting  from  our  morning  work 
in  the  sacred  field  of  Cybele  at  Ostia,  a  workman  rushed 

1  "  The  myth  symbolizes  the  growth  of  life  in  nature,  especially  of  plant  and 
tree  life,  its  death  and  its  resurrection,  as  well  as  the  twofold  character  of  nat- 
ural production,  the  male  and  the  female."  Marindin,  in  Smith's  Classical 
Dictionary,  ed.  1894,  p.  149. 


STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME. 


1ST 


into  our  place  of  shelter  with  the  tidings  that  a  great  find 
was  just  going  to  take  place.  I  was  then  beginning  to 
learn  from  my  companion  —  the  last  representative  of  the 
Visconti  dynasty  of  archaeologists  and  Pope's  "  Commissarii 
delle  antichita  "  —  the  gentle  art  of  excavating,  for  which 
purpose  we  used  to 
drive  once  or  twice 
a  week  to  Ostia, 
where  twenty  or 
thirty  hands  were 
employed  in  explor- 
ing those  noble  ruins : 
but  I  had  not  yet 
seen  with  my  own 
eyes  a  work  of  statu- 
ary come  out  of  the 


earth. 

The  sacred  field  of 
Cybele  is  a  triangu- 
lar space  of  ground, 
about  one  acre  in 
extent,  with  the  tem- 
ple of  the  goddess 
at  the  apex,  a  colon- 
nade on  the  right 
side,  and  a  group  of 
miscellaneous  buildings  on  the  other.  The  men  were  at 
work  in  a  recess  at  the  east  end  of  the  colonnade  when 
they  saw  a  bronze  hand  and  a  marble  head  appear  above 
the  surface  of  the  rubbish.  On  reaching  the  spot  we  left 
the  marble  figure  to  the  care  of  the  men,  and  took  upon 
ourselves  the  task  of  setting-  free  the  bronze  statuette  to 


Cybele's  arrival  in  Rome  from  Pessimis,  from  a 
terracotta  bas-relief  formerly  in  the  posses- 
sion of  G.  B.  Giiicli. 


which  the  hand 


belonged. 


Like  the  initiated  who  used  to 


188          STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME. 

gather  together  in  this  field  for  the  celebration  o£  the  Mega- 
lesia,  we  shed  drops  of  ichor,  as  our  fingers  were  bleeding 
freely  at  the  end  of  the  exhumation. 

I  need  not  give  a  description  of  the  statue,  as  the  accom- 
panying illustration  speaks  for  itself.  The  original,  now 
in  the  Lateran  Museum,  has  been  identified  by  Visconti  as 
a  Venus  "  Clotho,"  on  account  of  the  spindle  which  he 
thought  she  was  holding  in  the  right  hand ;  while  Helbig 
thinks  the  goddess  is  simply  attending  to  her  toilet.  "  The 
object  in  her  left  hand,"  he  says,  "  was  evidently  the  han- 
dle of  a  mirror,  in  which  she  was  gazing  at  her  image. 
The  attribute  on  the  right,  much  injured  by  oxidation, 
seems  to  have  been  a  small  spatula  for  laying  on  rouge."  l 
•  While  we  were  busy  welcoming  Aphrodite,  the  men  had 
exhumed  the  recumbent  statue  of  Atys,  which,  strange  to 
say,  had  never  left  the  steps  of  its  altar,  nor  suffered  the 
slightest  injury  from  time  or  at  the  hands  of  men.  Accord- 
ing to  the  inscription  of  the  plinth,  the  statue  was  conse- 
crated to  the  Phrygian  god  by  Gains  Cartilius  Euplus  at 
the  inspiration  of  the  Magna  Mater.  The  bodily  form  is 
delicate,  almost  womanly  ;  the  face  expresses  melancholy 
resignation  rather  than  suffering.  His  connection  with 
vegetation  is  symbolized  by  the  solar  rays  (modern,  but  in- 
serted in  the  five  holes  originally  bored  in  the  marble)  round 
his  head,  by  the  crown  of  pine  cones,  pomegranates,  and 
other  fruit,  by  the  wheat  ears  and  fruit  in  his  right  hand, 
and  by  the  wheat  ears  springing  from  the  point  of  the 
Phrygian  cap.  I  distinctly  remember  that  at  the  moment 
of  discovery  the  clothing  of  the  figure  retained  its  original 
coloring  (pink  and  ultramarine),  while  the  hair,  the  cres- 
cent, and  the  ears  of  corn  were  heavily  gilded. 

1  Compare  Visconti,  in  Annal.  Inst.,  1869,  p.  216,  and  Helbig,  Guide,  Eng. 
ed.,  1895,  vol.  i.  p.  515. 


•— •  -  . .   • : 


mi:  VKXUS  CLOTHO 


STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME. 


191 


With  the  finding  of  these  two  statues,  the  surprises  which 
the  sacred  field  of  Cybele  held  in  store  for  us  were  by  no 
means  exhausted  :  we  had  still  to  explore  the  schola  or 
meeting  hall  behind  the  temple,  and  the  Metroon  or  secret 
cave  on  the  left  side  of  it,  both  of  which  places  contained 
an  invaluable  set  of  written  records,  some  relating  to  the 
"  Collegium  Dendrophorum  "  placed  under  the  invocation  of 
Silvanus,  some  to  the  "  Collegium  Cannophorum,"  worship- 
pers of  the  Phrygian  gods.  These  records  referred  mostly 


to  gifts  of  silver  statuettes  (of  Mars,  the  Mother  Earth, 
Cybele,  Atys,  etc.)  weighing  from  one  to  three  pounds  each, 
offered  to  the  brotherhood  by  zealous  members  or  else  by 
the  "  venerables "  of  the  lodge,  both  male  and  female. 
There  were  also  records  of  "  taurobolia "  or  sacrifices  of 
bulls  to  propitiate  the  gods  of  the  sea  at  the  opening  of 
the  navigating  season.  This  interesting  place  has  since 


192          STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME. 

been  allowed  to  fall  into  ruin,  and  its  contents  have  heed- 
lessly been  removed  to  the  Lateran  museum. 

Twenty  Mithraic  sanctuaries,  at  least,  have  been  found 
and  explored  in  Rome  and  its  vicinity  in  my  time,  their 
main  feature  being  the  extreme  care  taken  to  conceal  their 
entrance  from  outsiders.  They  are  to  be  met  with,  not  only 
in  cities  and  villages,  but  also  in  the  most  secluded  districts 
of  the  Campagna,  where,  it  appears,  servants  and  farm-hands 
were  initiated  into  foreign  religious  mysteries  by  their  own 
masters  or  allowed  by  them  to  assemble  in  lodges.  In  the 
spring  of  the  year  1899,  while  exploring  the  wild  uplands 
between  the  Via  Collatina  and  the  river  Anio,  I  was  told 
by  a  shepherd  in  vague  and  mysterious  terms  that  a  figure 
of  the  Madonna  had  been  seen,  somewhere  in  that  neigh- 
borhood, deep  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth.  It  took  some 
weeks  for  my  companions  and  myself  to  make  out  where 
and  how  the  story  had  originated.  On  the  border  of  the 
farm  of  Lunghezzina,  towards  the  hamlet  of  Corcolle  (Quer- 
quetula),  we  were  shown  a  kind  of  well,  overgrown  with 
shrubs  and  brambles,  which  led  to  the  awe-inspiring  cave. 
Letting  ourselves  down  by  means  of  a  ladder,  we  found  a 
dimly  lighted  passage  at  the  end  of  which  a  rock-cut  stair- 
case descended  to  unknown  depths.  We  could  not  count 
the  steps,  as  they  were  covered  with  mud  and  rubbish 
brought  down  by  the  filtering  of  rain-water,  but  there  must 
have  been  about  forty  of  them.  The  steps  led  to  a  door, 
also  hewn  out  of  the  rock,  above  which  we  beheld  one  of 
the  brightest  and  best  preserved  pictures  it  has  been  my 
fate  to  come  across.  It  represents  a  mystic  subject ;  and  as 
far  as  we  could  see  by  the  flickering  light  of  a  candle  and 
in  an  atmosphere  darkened  by  smoke  and  damp  vapors,  the 
central  figure  appeared  to  be  Hercules  seated  on  a  boulder, 


STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME.  193 

with  the  club  by  his  side,  to  whom  a  winged  Victory  offers 
a  drinking  cup.  Cupids  fly  above  the  group  in  a  sky  dot- 
ted with  stars.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  door  led  into 
the  crypt  used  as  a  lodge  by  the  adepts ;  however,  the  want 
of  air  and  of  proper  light  made  it  impossible  for  us  to 
proceed  farther,  and  find  out  the  secret  of  this  remarkable 
cave. 

The  lodge  of  the  Mithraic  brotherhood  in  the  so-called 
imperial  palace  at  Ostia  discovered  by  Visconti  in  1867 
could  only  be  entered  by  a  dark,  narrow,  and  tortuous  pas- 
sage, running  back  of  the  kitchen  and  scullery.  The  other, 
which  I  discovered  in  the  same  city  in  the  spring  of  1888, 
within  the  house  of  the  ^Egrilii,  —  the  best  preserved  of  all, 
—  stands  entirely  apart  from  the  living  rooms,  and  can  be 
reached  through  a  corridor  built  on  purpose  against  all  the 
Vitruvian  rules  for  a  Roman  dwelling.  The  same  precau- 
tions are  manifest  in  the  Mithraeum  of  S.  Clemente  (see 
illustration  on  page  197),  and  in  the  one  of  the  Via  dello 
Statute,  which  I  have  described  in  "  Ancient  Rome,"  p. 
192.  The  cave  which  perhaps  enjoyed  the  greatest  fame 
at  the  time  of  the  renaissance  of  classical  studies  is  the 
one  of  the  Capitoline  Hill,  near  the  great  sanctuary  of  Ju- 
piter Optimus  Maximus.  The  particulars  concerning  this 
Mithraeum  are  rather  interesting. 

Flaminio  Vacca,  who  has  chronicled  all  the  finds  made 
in  Rome  in  the  second  half  of  the  sixteenth  century,  says 
(Mem.  19,  ed.  Fea,  1790)  :  "  I  remember  to  have  seen  in 
my  childhood  a  hole,  like  a  chasm,  in  the  Piazza  del  Cam- 
pidoglio  ;  and  those  who  dared  to  enter  it  said  that  there 
was  a  woman  sitting  on  a  bull.  I  happened  to  mention  the 
subject  one  day  to  my  master,  Vincenzo  de  Rossi,  and  he 
said  he  had  seen  the  place  ;  that  it  contained  a  bas-relief  set 
into  the  rock  in  a  cave  which  cut  through  the  hill  from 


194          STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME. 

the  Arch  of  Severus  to  the  steps  of  the  Aracoeli ;  and  that 
the  bas-relief  represented  the  Rape  of  Europa."  We  can 
easily  forgive  those  simple  explorers  for  their  mistake  ;  the 
woman  on  the  bull,  the  Europa  of  Master  Vincenzo  de 
Rossi,  was  nothing  else  but  the  image  of  Mithras  Tauroc- 
tonos,  that  is,  of  Mithras  slaying  the  bull.  These  things 
happened  in  1548.  Shortly  afterwards,  on  September  4, 
1550,  another  explorer  found  his  way  to  the  cave.  I  have 
discovered  a  memorandum  of  this  incident  in  a  manuscript 
note  to  a  copy  of  Lucio  Fauno's  "  Antichita  della  citta  di 
Roma,"  now  in  the  possession  of  the  Cavaliere  Giulio  Vac- 
cai,  of  Pesaro.  The  memorandum,  which  must  have  been 
written  by  a  Franciscan  brother  of  the  convent  of  the 
Aracoeli,  says  :  — 

"  While  I  was  in  Rome  in  the  Anno  Santo  or  jubilee  of 
1550,  I  descended  with  some  of  my  brother  monks  carry- 
ing lighted  torches  into  a  crypt  under  the  marble  steps 
which  lead  to  our  church  of  the  Aracreli.  Here  we  found 
the  mouth  of  a  cave,  shaped  like  a  vaulted  corridor,  from 
which  the  wind  blew  in  such  force  that  it  was  difficult  to 
keep  the  torches  lighted  ;  and  proceeding  farther  we  came 
to  the  foundations  of  the  '  Palace  of  the  Csesars '  [he  means 
of  a  noble  building]  where  are  baths  of  wonderful  beauty, 
and  quite  well  preserved.  Lastly,  we  entered  a  hall,  the  ceil- 
ing of  which  was  covered  with  reliefs  in  stucco  :  there  were 
benches  and  seats  round  three  sides  of  the  hall,  while  on  the 
fourth  side,  opposite  the  entrance  door,  we  saw  a  great  piece 
of  marble  representing  a  bull  caught  by  the  horns,  etc." 

The  name  of  Lo  Perso  given  to  this  cave  in  the  middle 
ages,  is  truly  surprising,  because  it  betrays  an  archaeological 
knowledge  remarkable  for  that  age,  Lo  Perso  being  a  mani- 
fest allusion  to  the  Persian  origin  of  the  god.  The  name 
occurs  not  only  in  the  epigraphic  MSS.  of  Cola  di  Rienzo, 


STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME. 


195 


Nicolas  Signorili,  and  Ciriaco  d'  Ancona,  but  also  in  the 
legal  deeds  of  notaries  and  magistrates.  I  have  found,  for 
instance,  in  the  records  of  Giovanni  Angelo  de  Amatis,  a 
notary  of  the  fifteenth  century,  the  account  of  a  judgment 
delivered  on  May  31,  1456,  by  two  city  officers,  Battista  de' 
Lenis  and  Paolo  Astalli,  sitting  on  a  wooden  bench  "  in 
tribio  dicto  lo  Perso."  It  seems  that  before  the  collapse 
of  the  underground  sanctuary,  which  must  have  taken  place 
soon  after  the  visit  of  Master  Vincenzo  de  Rossi,  the  bas- 
relief  was  removed  to  a  place  of  safety.  Pignorio  saw  it  in 
1606  in  the  Piazza  del  Campidoglio.  It  passed  afterwards 
into  the  Borghese  Collection,  whence  it  was  stolen  by  the 
French  in  1808.  It  is 
now  exhibited  in  the 
Louvre. 

The  late  Commen- 
datore  de  Rossi  has 
pointed  out  first  of  all, 
I  believe,  that  the  ex- 
istence of  many  Mith- 
raea  and  Metroa  near 
or  under  the  great 
sanctuaries  of  pagan 
and  Christian  Rome 
cannot  be  accidental. 
De  Rossi  thinks  that 

the  members  of  these  brotherhoods  sought  deliberately  and 
intentionally  the  contact  of  the  Capitol  and  of  the  Vati- 
can, in  their  attempt  to  counteract,  as  it- were,  the  influence 
of  those  two  great  centres  of  Roman  religion.  I  may  add 
that  the  Mithrseum  called  Lo  Perso,  which  I  have  just  men- 
tioned, was  by  no  means  the  only  one  bored  in  the  rock  of 
the  Capitoline  Hill.  When  the  carriage  road,  known  as  the 


The  Mithriac  bas-relief  in  the  cave  of 
the  Capitol. 


196          STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME. 

Salita  delle  Tre  Pile,  —  from  the  three  pots,  or  "  pignatte," 
which  form  the  coat  of  arms  of  Pope  "  Pignatelli,"  In- 
nocent XII.,  the  maker  of  the  road,  —  was  repaired  and 
enlarged  in  1873,  I  found,  on  January  3,  a  staircase  cut 
out  of  the  rock,  at  the  back  of  the  garden  which  formerly 
belonged  to  Michelangelo's  house,  and  a  small  cave,  at  the 
bottom  of  the  stairs,  which  contained  the  Mithraic  bas- 
relief  published  in  "  Bullettino  Comunale,"  vol.  i.  p.  114, 
plate  iii.  The  cave  must  have  been  a  private  one,  judging 
from  its  small  size,  and  from  the  absence  of  the  side 
benches,  where  the  members  usually  sat  according  to  the 
degree  they  had  gained  in  the  lodge.  There  were  seven 
degrees  in  all,  marked  not  by  numbers,  but  by  a  name  in 
the  following  order  :  I.  corax,  raven  ;  II.  cryphius  (/c/av^to?), 
secret ;  III.  miles,  soldier  ;  IV.  leo,  lion  ;  V.  Perses,  Per- 
sian ;  VI.  heliodromus  (^XtoS/ao/Ao?),  sun-runner ;  and  VII. 
pater ',  the  venerable  of  the  lodge.  This  is  the  reason  why 
the  pavement  of  the  lodge  found  at  Ostia  in  1888  in  the 
house  of  the  ^Egrilii  is  divided  by  bands  of  black  mosaic 
into  as  many  compartments  as  there  were  degrees  of  initia- 
tion. The  promotion  from  one  to  another  could  not  be 
obtained  unless  the  candidate  had  successfully  withstood 
certain  trials,  which  are  beautifully  illustrated  in  a  bas- 
relief  found  near  Botzen,  and  published  by  Layard. 

I  must  acknowledge,  however,  that  the  contact  between 
these  dens  of  mystery  and  the  pagan  or  Christian  sanctu- 
aries above  ground  was  not  always  sought  by  the  sectaries  : 
sometimes  the  reverse  took  place,  and  the  sacred  caves  were 
given  up  to  the  Christians,  to  be  purified  under  the  name  of 
the  true  God.  Such  was  the  case  with  the  Mithraeum  of 
Alexandria,  which,  having  been  abandoned  for  some  time 
by  the  initiated,  was  given  by  the  Emperor  Constantius  to 
the  local  congregation  in  361.  And  while  the  Christians 


STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME. 


197 


were  searching  the  place,  and  investigating  how  it  could  be 
turned  into  a  church,  they  found  a  secret  passage  contain- 
ing human  bones,  believed  to  be  remains  of  human  sacri- 
fices. These  ghastly  relics  were  shown  to  the  populace, 
together  with  the  uncanny  representations  of  the  Mithras 


The  lodge  discovered  in  1870,  under  the  church  of  S.  Clemente. 

leontocephalus,  Mithras-stone,  etc. ;  but  as  the  population 
was  still  essentially  pagan,  and  addicted  to  all  sorts  of  mys- 
terious practices,  the  revelation  of  the  secrets  of  the  Mith- 
raeum  gave  rise  to  the  outbreak  described  by  Socrates  and 
Sozomenos,  followed  by  pillage,  arson,  and  murder.  The 
scheme  for  raising  a  church  on  the  site  of  the  Mithraeum, 
put  aside  for  the  time  being,  was  taken  up  once  more 
in  389,  by  Bishop  Theophilus,  and  again  the  attempt  was 
followed  by  a  revolution,  in  the  course  of  which  hundreds 
of  Christians  fell  the  victims  of  the  infuriated  mob. 

When  the  work  for  the  erection  of  the  national  monu- 
ment to  King  Victor  Emmanuel  on  the  Capitol   began  in 


198          STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME. 

1883,  we  felt  sanguine  that  the  many  and  vexed  problems 
connected  with  the  topography  of  the  famous  hill  would 
soon  find  their  solution.  The  results  have  been  rather 
disappointing,  except  as  regards  the  respective  location  of 
Jupiter's  temple  (Capitolium)  and  of  the  Citadel  (Arx), 
which  has  been  made  clear,  beyond  the  least  shade  of  doubt. 
The  temple  stood  on  the  southwest  summit,  now  occupied 
by  the  Caffarelli  palace,  the  Citadel  on  the  site  of  the  Ara- 
cceli.  The  latest  link  in  the  chain  of  evidence  was  obtained 
in  November,  1892,  with  the  finding  of  a  pedestal,  the  dedi- 
catory inscription  of  which  begins  with  the  words  :  "  Flavise 
Epicha(ridi)  sacerdotiaB  dese  virginis  caBlesti(s),  praBsentis- 
simo  numini  loci  Montis  Tarpei,"  etc.  (To  Flavia  Epicharis, 
a  priestess  of  the  Dea  Caelestis,  the  protecting  deity  of  the 
Tarpeian  hill,  etc.).  The  grammar  of  the  text  is  uncer- 
tain and  the  spelling  decidedly  wrong,  but  the  meaning  is 
interesting.  We  learn  from  this  inscription  that  another 
meeting  place  of  a  mysterious  sect  had  been  established 
November,  259  A.  D.,  on  the  side  of  the  hill,  the  precipitous 
face  of  which  was  known  by  the  name  of  the  Tarpeian 
Rock ;  that  the  members  of  the  lodge  were  of  the  female 
sex,  except  the  chaplain,  a  certain  Junius  Hylas,  who  hap- 
pened to  be  the  husband  of  Flavia  Epicharis  herself ;  that 
they  were  organized  in  degrees,  two  of  which  were  named 
of  the  sacratce  and  of  the  canistrarice ;  and  lastly,  that 
the  titular  goddess  of  the  lodge  was  the  Virgo  Ccelestis,  a 
Roman  representative  of  the  Phoenician  Astarte,  and  of  the 
Carthaginian  Juno,  whose  worship  was  first  introduced 
into  Rome  by  Scipio,  at  the  close  of  the  Third  Punic  War. 
It  is  possible  that  at  so  late  a  period  as  the  one  to  which 
the  inscription  of  Flavia  Epicharis  belongs,  when  religious 
syncretism  was  so  highly  in  favor,  the  name  of  Virgo  Cae- 
lestis may  have  been  attributed  to  Juno,  the  true  Roman 


STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME. 


199 


The  cliffs  of  the  Capitoline  Hill,  south  face. 

Juno,  to  whom  the  northeast  summit  of  the  hill  was  espe- 
cially sacred. 

Among  the  points  which  these  excavations  have  failed  to 
make  clear  is  that  concerning  the  site  of  the  corner-stone 
of  the  great  temple  of  Jupiter,  laid  on  June  1,  A.  D.  71, 
and  the  consequent  burial  of  an  enormous  mass  of  gold  and 
silver  in  the  heart  of  the  hill.  As  the  subject  is  rather  new 
and  of  considerable  interest  for  the  excavators  of  antique 
edifices,  I  beg  leave  to  enter  into  more  particulars. 

The  old  temple  of  Jupiter,  the  cathedral  as  it  were  of  an- 
cient Rome,  designed  by  Tarquinius  the  Elder,  finished  by 
his  son,  and  dedicated  by  the  consul  M.  Horatius  Pulvillus, 
on  September  13,  509  B.  c.,  stood  erect  for  four  hundred 
and  twenty-six  years.  An  unknown  malefactor,  taking  ad- 
vantage of  the  inflammable  material  of  which  the  temple 
was  built,  set  fire  to  it,  and  reduced  it  to  a  heap  of  ashes 
on  July  6,  86  B.  c. 


200  STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME. 

Its  reconstruction  was  intrusted,  first,  to  Q.  Lutatius 
Catulus,  later  to  Julius  Csesar.  The  inscription  of  Ancyra 
mentions  a  second  restoration  by  Augustus. 

During  the  civil  disturbances  of  Vitellius  the  Capitolium 
was  burnt  to  the  ground  for  the  third  time.  Vespasian 
inaugurated  the  works  of  reconstruction,  carrying  away  on 
his  shoulders  a  basketful  of  rubbish,  which,  according  to 
the  direction  of  the  augurs,  was  dumped  into  a  marsh. 

The  following  details  about  the  laying  of  the  corner- 
stone, on  June  21,  A.  D.  71,  are  given  by  Tacitus  in  chap- 
ter 52  of  the  fourth  book  of  the  "  Historic." 

The  space  set  apart  for  the  ceremony  was  marked  out 
with  masts  and  pennants,  from  which  hung  festoons  of  ever- 
greens and  garlands  of  flowers.  The  troops  on  duty 
reached  the  sacred  enclosure  in  the  first  hours  of  the  morn- 
ing, under  a  cloudless  sky,  carrying  branches  of  palm  and 
laurel  instead  of  the  weapons  of  war.  They  were  soon  fol- 
lowed by  the  Vestal  Virgins,  clad  in  their  white  garments, 
and  attended  by  sons  and  daughters  of  patrician  families, 
sprinkling  the  enclosure  with  lustral  water  which  they  had 
drawn  from  clear  springs.  The  high  priest,  Plautius  ^Eli- 
anus,  then  offered  the  sacrifice  of  the  Suovetaurilia,  which 
consisted  of  a  sow,  a  sheep,  and  a  bull,  while  the  praetor 
Helvidius  Priscus  called  down  the  blessings  of  the  three 
Capitoline  deities,  Jupiter,  Juno,  Minerva,  on  the  enterprise. 
The  prayer  being  over,  Priscus  touched  the  gaily  ribboned 
ropes  with  which  the  inaugural  stone  was  bound,  and  then 
magistrates,  priests,  senators,  knights,  soldiers,  and  people 
dragged  the  great  block  to  the  edge  of  the  shaft  into  which 
it  was  to  be  sunk.  The  same  classes  of  citizens  then 
marched  past  the  shaft,  each  individual  dropping  into  the 
cavity  a  votive  offering,  consisting  mainly  of  gold  and  silver 
nuggets  "  as  they  come  from  the  mines,  not  worked  by 
hand." 


STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME. 


201 


We  can  easily  appreciate  the  value  of  the  treasure  buried 
in  the  heart  of  the  Capitoline  Hill  on  June  21,  71  A.  D. 
It  represents  the  spontaneous  offering  of  the  greatest  city 
in  the  world,  of  a  population  of  about  a  million  souls,  full  of 
religious  enthusiasm,  and  impatient  to  see  the  august  tem- 
ple rise  again  from  its  ashes.  Thousands  and  thousands  of 
pounds'  worth  of  gold  and  silver  must  have  been  sunk  at 
the  bottom  of  the  inaugural  well.  Now  it  may  interest 
the  reader  to  know  that  this  invaluable  treasure  has  never 
been  discovered  to  the  present  day. 

The   platform    of    the    temple    on   which   the    Caffarelli 


The  Lion  cut  by  Flaminio  Vaeca  out  of  a  block  of  Pentelic  marble  from  the 
temple  of  Jupiter. 

palace  (now  the  seat  of  the  German  Embassy)  was  built  in 
the  seventeenth  century  has  never  been  disturbed  until 
comparatively  recent  times.  When  Martin  Heemskerk 
drew  his  celebrated  panorama  of  Rome  in  1536,  the  Monte 


202          STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME. 

Caprino  —  as  the  Capitol  was  then  called  —  was  covered 
with  vineyards  and  gardens.  Excavations  began  after  the 
middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  results  of  which  are 
minutely  described  by  contemporary  archaeologists.  Blocks 
of  Pentelic  marble  were  found  belonging  to  the  peristyle  of 
the  temple,  of  such  size  that  Flaminio  Vacca  was  able  to 
cut  out  of  one  of  them  the  great  lion  now  in  the  vestibule 
of  the  Villa  Medici.  The  platform  itself  was  not  touched 
until  about  1680,  when  Duke  Caffarelli  removed  (partially) 
the  fourteen  upper  layers  of  stones.  Other  damage  was 
inflicted  in  more  recent  times. 

Now,  if  the  treasure  had  been  detected  in  one  of  these 
excavations  we  surely  should  know  about  it.  A  find  of  this 
sort  which  requires  the  connivance  of  several  workmen, 
and  produces  a  sudden  rise  in  the  fortunes  of  one  or  more 
families,  cannot  be  kept  concealed ;  and  if  we  possess  genu- 
ine accounts  of  treasure  hunting  and  treasure  trove  from  the 
darkest  period  of  the  middle  ages  and  from  the  remotest 
parts  of  the  City,  so  much  more  probably  should  we  have 
heard  of  this  one,  the  most  amazing  of  all,  in  a  spot  located 
under  the  very  eyes  of  the  magistrates  of  the  City.  And  be- 
sides, the  "  Historise  "  of  Tacitus,  the  only  document  stating 
the  facts  of  the  case,  was  unknown  to  literary  men  before 
the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  when  Poggio  Braccio- 
lini  discovered  the  text  in  the  library  of  Monte  Cassino.  In 
all  probability,  therefore,  the  vast  mass  of  gold  and  silver 
is  still  awaiting  the  hand  destined  to  exhume  it  from  its 
hiding-place. 

'It  is  time,  however,  that  we  should  turn  our  attention 
towards  the  sanctuary  of  the  Scythian  Diana  at  Nemi,  the 
last  of  the  three  mysterious  deities  mentioned  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  chapter. 


STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME.  203 

The  Lake  of  Nemi  lies  at  the  bottom  of  one  of  the  craters 
of  the  Alban  range,  which  measures  six  miles  in  circumfer- 
ence at  the  top  of  the  cliffs  and  four  at  the  water's  edge. 
Its  altitude  above  the  sea  is  191  metres,  the  depth  in  the 
centre  36  metres.  When  the  worship  of  Diana  was  first 
established  on  its  shores,  and  all  through  the  classic  period 
of  Roman  history,  the  aspect  of  the  place  was  very  different 
from  its  present  appearance.  There  were  then  no  villages 
teeming  with  life,  no  fields  yielding  the  choicest  produce  of 
the  earth,  no  villas,  no  farms,  nothing  but  primeval  forests 
casting  their  shadows  over  the  silent  waters. 

The  lake  was  formed  many  centuries  before  the  extinc- 
tion of  the  last  volcano  of  the  Alban  range  (Monte  Pila). 
We  may  easily  imagine  what  an  awe-inspiring  place  it  must 
have  appeared  when  the  mountains  around  were  shaken 
from  their  foundations  by  outbursts  of  incandescent  lava, 
when  the  skies  were  heavy  with  ashes  and  smoke,  and  the 
thundering  of  the  "  boati,"  reverberating  from  cliff  to  cliff, 
from  mountain  to  mountain,  was  heard  as  far  as  Rome. 
"  Vox  ingens,"  Livy  calls  it,  "  vox  ingens  e  luco  et  summo 
montis  cacumine  !  "  No  wonder  that  such  a  frightful  re- 
treat should  have  been  selected  for  the  seat  of  a  mysterious 
worship,  that  of  the  Scythian  Diana,  the  origin  of  which 
is  variously  explained  by  Strabo,  by  Servius,  and  by  Pau- 
sanias.  The  worship  seems  to  have  been  imported  from  the 
Chersonesus  Taurica  (Crimea),  the  abode  of  rude,  savage 
tribes,  addicted  to  piracy  as  well  as  to  the  veneration  of  Ar- 
temis, or,  according  to  their  own  statement,  of  Iphigenia. 
The  principal  rule  of  the  sanctuary  by  the  Lake  of  Nemi 
was,  in  fact,  truly  barbaric  and  worthy  of  the  Scythians  j 
no  one  could  be  elected  high  priest  unless  he  had  slain 
with  his  own  hands  the  one  who,  by  a  similar  deed,  had 
obtained  the  dignity  before  him.  It  is  evident,  therefore, 


204  STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME. 

that  the  thoughts  of  the  unfortunate  priest  must  have  been 
directed  more  to  the  preservation  of  his  life  than  to  the 
service  of  the  goddess.  This  extraordinary  rite  was  still 
flourishing  at  the  time  of  Marcus  Aurelitis  and  Commodus, 
but  the  duels  were  generally  confined  to  runaway  slaves, 
one  of  whom  would  escape,  for  the  time  being,  the  fate  to 
which,  nevertheless,  he  was  doomed. 

In  the  palace  of  the  Count  of  Montenegro  at  Palma, 
Majorca,  there  is  a  bas-relief  three  and  a  half  feet  long  and 
two  feet  high,  of  archaic  workmanship,  discovered  in  1791 
by  Cardinal  Despuig  near  the  mouth  of  the  outlet  of  the 
lake,  at  the  place  called  "  le  Mole  di  Valle  Ariccia,"  and 
reproduced  by  Sir  William  Gell  in  his  "  Topography  of 
Rome,"  p.  327.  It  is  considered  to  represent  the  issue  of 
one  of  these  duels  ;  the  high  priest,  wounded  to  death  by 
his  rival,  lies  on  the  ground  holding  with  his  right  hand 
the  intestines  which  are  protruding  from  the  gash.  The 
successful  antagonist,  brandishing  the  bloody  poniard,  is 
surrounded  by  four  female  attendants  of  the  temple,  in  atti- 
tudes expressive  of  the  greatest  distress.  The  prohibitory 
laws  of  Valentinian  II.  and  Theodosius  must  have  put  an 
end  to  the  practice  in  A.  D.  393.1 

The  temple  of  the  Scythian  goddess,  to  whom  human 
sacrifices  were  offered  in  times  gone  by,  rose  in  the  midst 
of  the  great  forest  on  the  north  side  of  the  lake,  at  the 
foot  of  the  craggy  boulder  on  which  the  village  of  Nemi  is 
now  perched.  Judging  from  her  figure,  as  given  upon  an 
ancient  vase,  the  statue  of  the  goddess  seems  to  have  been 
an  almost  shapeless  stone,  with  a  rude  head,  and  one  arm 
resting  upon  a  sword.  Before  the  sanctuary  expands  the 
lonely  lake,  fed  by  the  same  springs  which  are  now  forced 
up  to  fill  the  reservoir  at  Albano.  The  temple  stands  not 

1  Modern  archaeologists  disagree  as  to  the  interpretation  of  the  bas-relief. 


STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROMK.  205 

much  higher  than  the  lake,  and  might  have  been  easily 
flooded  except  for  a  wonderful  emissary  by  which  the 
waters  are  kept  at  a  fixed  level.  The  emissary,  therefore, 
must  be  the  wrork  of  a  very  remote  age,  and  this  explains 
why  no  mention  of  it  is  to  be  found  in  ancient  writers. 
The  tunnel  is  1,649  yards  long,  irregular  in  shape  and 
direction.  It  is  possible  that  the  temple  may  have  been 


The  Lake  of  Nemi,  with  the  second  ship  outlined  by  means  of  floaters. 

built  on  the  newly  claimed  land  in  commemoration  of  the 
almost  marvellous  drainage  of  the  lake. 

Though  nothing  in  the  present  day  can  exceed  the 
beauty  and  loveliness  of  this  "  Mirror  of  Diana,"  as  the 
ancients  called  it,  where  fragrant  strawberry  fields  have 
succeeded  to  the  ancient  forest,  and  life  and  thrift  to  the 
wilderness  of  old  days,  its  chief  celebrity  has  arisen  from 
the  discovery  at  the  bottom  of  the  lake  of  two  ships  of 


206          STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  RONE. 

great  size,  and  as  rich  and  beautiful  as  an  enchanted 
palace. 

Besides  insignificant  attempts  made  frequently  by  local 
boatmen  and  fishermen,  a  regular  search  for  the  mysterious 
wrecks  has  been  undertaken  four  times,  the  first  by  Leone 
Battista  Alberti,  at  the  time  of  Eugenius  IV.  (1431-1439) ; 
the  second  by  Francesco  de  Marchi  in  1535  ;  the  third  by 
Annesio  Fusconi  in  1827  ;  the  last  by  Eliseo  Borghi  in  1895, 
which  has  not  yet  been  brought  to  a  close. 

Flavio  Biondo  da  Forli,  in  his  "  Italia  Illustrata,"  relates 
that  Cardinal  Prospero  Colonna,  who  counted  among  the 
fiefs  of  the  family  both  Nemi  and  Genzano,  had  often  heard 
from  his  tenants  and  fishermen  the  story  of  two  immense 
ships  sunk  deep  in  the  water,  so  strong  and  well  preserved 
as  to  resist  all  attempts  made  to  float  them  or  to  demolish 
them  piece  by  piece.  Prospero  being  a  learned  prelate  for 
his  days,  and  very  studious  of  history  and  ancient  remains, 
determined  to  find  out  why  two  such  large  craft  should  have 
been  launched  on  a  narrow  sheet  of  water,  enclosed  by 
mountains  on  every  side,  and  to  what  causes  their  wreck 
should  be  attributed.  He  sought  the  help  of  the  "  Vitru- 
vio  Fiorentino,"  the  engineer  and  mechanician,  Leone  Bat- 
tista Alberti,  who  built  a  raft  of  beams  and  empty  barrels 
to  support  the  machinery  by  means  of  which  the  explora- 
tion could  be  made.  Skilful  smiths  prepared  hooks,  like 
four-pointed  anchors,  hung  to  chains,  to  be  wound  up  by 
capstans ;  and  seamen  from  Genoa,  "  who  looked  more  like 
fish  than  men,"  were  called  to  adjust  the  hooks  on  and 
around  the  prow  of  the  first  ship.  The  immense  weight  of 
the  wreck  baffled  their  efforts ;  the  chains  broke  ;  many  of 
the  hooks  were  lost,  and  the  few  that  were  successfully 
hauled  up  brought  to  the  surface  fragments,  which  filled 
the  assistants  with  marvel  and  admiration.  It  was  seen 


STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME. 


207 


that  the  framework  of  the  vessel,  ribs  and  decks,  was  of 
larchwood  ;  that  the  sides  were  made  of  boards  three  inches 
thick,  caulked  with  tar  and  pieces  of  sail,  and  protected 
by  sheets  of  lead  fastened  with  copper  nails.  Alberti's  de- 
scription of  the  inside  is  rather  obscure.  He  says  the  decks 


One  of  the  mooring-rings  of  the  first  ship. 

were  built  more  to  resist  fire  and  the  violence  of  men  than 
to  withstand  the  rain,  or  the  gentle  waves  of  the  lake.  He 
speaks  of  an  iron  framework  supporting  a  floor  of  con- 
crete, and  also  of  a  lead  pipe  upon  which  the  name  of  the 
Emperor  Tiberius  was  engraved. 

Guillaume  de  Lorraine  and  Francesco  de'  Marchi  renewed 
the  attempt  in  July,  1535.     Guillaume  had  just  invented  a 


208 


STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME. 


diving-bell,  or  something  like  it,  and  was  trying  experi- 
ments on  the  wreck.  De  Marchi  went  down  first  on  July 
15,  and  looking  through  the  convex  glass  of  the  spy-holes, 
which  acted  like  lenses,  was  horrified  at  the  sight  of  hun- 
dreds of  fishes  three  feet  long  and  as  big  round  as  his  arm. 
They  were  nothing  but  "  lattarini "  or  "  whitebait,"  sixty 
or  seventy  of  which  are  required  to  make  a  pound.  At  his 
second  descent  de  Marchi  remained  one  hour  in  the  bell. 
His  operations  and  doings  are  cleverly  described  by  him- 
self in  a  curious  chapter  which  is  too  full  of  details  to  be 
repeated  here.  He  concludes  by  saying  that  the  ship  was 


Another  mooring-ring  of  the  first  ship. 

four  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet  long,  two  hundred  and 
twenty-eight  feet  broad,  and  fifty-three  feet  high. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  dwell  on  the  absurdity  of  these 
figures ;  but  the  true  ones,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  are 
none  the  less  surprising  if  we  consider  the  difficulties  of 
building  and  launching  the  huge  craft  in  such  an  awkward 


STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME.  209 

funnel-shaped  hole,  and  of  floating  and  manreuvring  them 
in  such  a  diminutive  sheet  of  water. 

The  third  attempt  was  made  in  1827  by  Annesio  Fusconi, 
who  has  left  an  account  of  his  doings  in  a  pamphlet  which 
has  become  exceedingly  scarce.  Fusconi  sunk  some  twelve 


The  Medusa's  head  from  the  first  ship. 

hundred  pounds  in  the  experiment,  half  the  amount  being 
wasted  on  a  threatrical  "  mise  en  scene  "  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  diplomatists,  noblemen,  and  prelates,  who  were  to 
witness  the  beginning  of  the  operations  on  September  10  of 
that  year. 

The  enterprise  was  tried  for  the  fourth  time  in  1895. 
The  search  made  by  divers  led  to  the  discovery  of  six 
mooring-rings  of  solid  bronze,  representing  heads  of  lions, 
wolves,  and  tigers,  and  one  of  Medusa,  to  which  objects 
a  prominent  place  has  already  been  given  in  the  history  of 
Greco-Roman  art,  so  exquisitely  beautiful  are  they  in 
moulding  and  finish.  (See  cut  on  page  212.) 


210  STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME. 

Let  me  declare  at  the  outset  that  the  finding  of  an 
ancient  ship  in  good  preservation  is  by  no  means  an  ex- 
traordinary event  among  us.  Three  have  already  been 
discovered  in  my  lifetime,  —  the  first  in  1876,  when  the 
foundations  of  the  iron  bridge  at  "  la  Ripetta  "  were  sunk 
in  the  Tiber  by  means  of  compressed  air.  The  craft  was 
so  deeply  embedded  in  silt  and  mud,  and  the  section  which 
fell  within  the  range  of  the  air-cylinder  so  small,  that  no 
investigation  could  be  made. 

The  second  was  discovered  at  Porto  d'  Anzio  in  1884  in 
the  foundations  of  the  Hotel  delle  Sirene.  The  mainmast, 
part  of  the  rudder,  and  part  of  the  keel,  with  fragments  of 
the  ribs,  were  exposed  to  view.  If  I  remember  rightly, 
Cavaliere  Pietro  Jonni,  the  builder  of  the  hotel,  had  some 
pieces  of  furniture  made  out  of  the  wreck. 

In  the  spring  of  1885,  about  two  miles  west  of  Astura,  — 
an  island  and  a  castle  on  the  Pontine  coast  well  known  in 
the  history  of  Cicero,  Augustus,  and  Conradin  von  Hohen- 
staufen,  —  and  about  fifty  yards  from  the  shore,  which  is 
there  very  shelving,  a  fisherman  discovered  the  wreck  of  a 
Roman  trading-ship,  the  hull  of  which  was  filled  with  am- 
phorae, or  earthen  jars,  which  were  used  in  the  shipment  of 
wine  from  the  islands  to  the  continent. 

Crustacea  of  various  kinds  had  cemented  in  the  course  of 
centuries  the  whole  mass  into  a  kind  of  coralliferous  rock, 
from  which  it  was  very  hard  to  extricate  an  amphora  with- 
out breaking  it,  yet  four  or  five  beautiful  and  perfect  speci- 
mens were  saved,  which  can  be  seen  at  present  in  the  grounds 
of  the  Villa  Sindici  at  Porto  d'  Anzio.  See  "  Ancient  Rome," 
p.  252. 

In  each  of  these  cases,  however,  we  had  to  deal  with 
fishing  or  trading  ships  of  small  tonnage  and  hardly  fifty 
feet  in  length.  Very  different  is  the  case  of  the  Lake  of 


STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME.  211 

Nemi ;  and  we  are  not  far  from  right  if  we  compare  the 
vessels  which  plied  on  its  waters  in  centuries  gone  by  to 
the  liners  which  crossed  the  Atlantic  thirty  years  ago. 

The  measurements  of  the  wrecks  have  been  taken  very 
ingeniously  by  the  head-diver  and  his  assistant  under  the 
direction  of  the  eminent  naval  engineer  Cavaliere  Vittorio 
Malfatti,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  an  excellent  re- 
port on  the  subject  of  these  discoveries,  and  for  exquisite 
illustrations  of  the  ship.1  Floaters,  tied  to  strings,  were 
fastened  at  short  intervals  around  the  edge  of  the  wood- 
work, care  being  taken  to  draw  the  string  tightly  so  as  to 
have  the  floater  absolutely  perpendicular  above  the  point 
below.  When  the  operation  was  finished  the  people  on 
shore  were  surprised  to  see  the  form,  or  horizontal  section, 
of  a  great  ship  appear  on  the  surface  of  the  lake.  (See 
cut  on  page  205.) 

The  exactitude  of  the  proceedings  was  verified  at  a  sub- 
sequent period  by  measurements  taken  directly  on  the  wreck 


P&W  Y* 

-.  #         m 

^9^''  •  •-&•    '     * 

S»  •  ,•  -* 

*»-* 


Plan  of  the  first  vessel,  from  Captain  Malfatti's  survey. 

itself.  The  length  between  the  perpendiculars  has  been 
ascertained  to  be  two  hundred  feet,  the  beam  about  sixty 
feet.  The  depth  of  hull  cannot  be  measured  on  account 
of  the  silt  which  fills  it  to  the  level  of  the  deck. 

i  Published  in  the  Rivista  Marittima,  June,  1896,  and  July,  1897,  under  the 
title,  "  Le  navi  Romane  del  lago  di  Nemi,"  part  i.,  ii. 


212 


STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME. 


The  deck  itself  must  have  been  a  marvellous  sight  to  be- 
hold. The  fanciful  naval  engineer  who  designed  and  built 
these  floating  palaces  must  have  been  allowed  to  follow  the 
most  extravagant  flights  of  his  imagination  without  regard 
to  time  and  expense.  The  deck  is  paved  with  disks  of 
porphyry  and  serpentine  not  thicker  than  a  quarter  of  an 
inch,  framed  in  segments  and  lines  of  white,  gold,  red,  and 
green  enamel.  The  parapets  and  railings  are  cast  in  metal, 
and  heavily  gilded ;  lead  pipes  inscribed  with  the  name  of 
Caligula  carried  the  water  to  the  fountains  playing  amid- 
ship  and  mixing  their  spray  with  the  gentle  waves  of  the 


Some  of  the  decorations  of  the  first  ship,  from  Malfatti's  photograph. 

lake.  There  are  other  rich  decorations,  the  place  of  which 
in  the  general  plan  of  the  vessel  has  not  been  yet  made  clear. 
The  second  ship  appears  to  be  even  larger.  One  of  the 
beams  brought  ashore  measures  eighty-five  feet,  although 
broken  at  one  of  the  ends.  The  length  between  the  per- 


STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME. 


213 


pendieulars  probably  exceeds  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet. 
An  Atlantic  liner  of  such  dimensions  would  have  been  con- 
sidered almost  gigantic  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago.  We 
knew  that  the  ancients,  especially  the  Syracusans,  had  built 


..     , 

Timber  from  the  frame  of  the  first  ship,  landed  near  the  "  Casa  del  Pescatore." 

large  and  wonderful  vessels,  but  we  were  not  prepared 
to  find  a  monster  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long  with 
marble  terraces,  enamelled  decks,  shrines,  fountains,  and 
hanging  gardens  in  a  little  speck  of  water,  hardly  four 
thousand  feet  in  diameter.  We  must  remember  in  deal- 
ing with  this  question  that  the  quinqueremis,  the  typical 
man-of-war  of  the  ancients,  from  the  end  of  the  third  cen- 
tury B.  c.  downwards,  with  her  complement  of  three  hun- 
dred and  ten  oarsmen,  measured  only  one  hundred  and 
sixty-eight  feet  in  length,  twenty-six  feet  in  breadth,  with 
a  height  above  water  of  fifteen  feet  and  a  draught  of 
eleven  and  a  half  feet. 


214  STRANGE  SUPERSTITIONS  IN  ROME. 

I  am  sure  the  kind  reader  would  be  pleased  to  know 
why  two  such  great  ships  should  have  been  launched  on 
"Diana's  mirror,"  between  the  years  37  and  41  of  the 
Christian  era,  under  the  rule  of  Caligula,  whose  name  is 
engraved  on  the  water  pipes.  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that 
they  were  the  property  not  of  the  state  or  of  the  Emperor, 
but  of  the  sanctuary  of  Artemis  Taurica,  the  remains  of 
which,  excavated  by  the  Frangipani  in  1554  and  1737,  by 
the  Orsini  in  1856,  by  Lord  Savile  Lumley  in  1885,  and  by 
Luigi  Boccanera  in  1887,  are  still  to  be  seen  commanding 
the  north  shore  at  a  place  called  il  Giardino.  I  believe 
also  that  they  were  used  not  so  much  for  the  conveyance  of 
pilgrims  from  shore  to  shore,  as  for  religious  ceremonies 
and  for  combined  processions  on  land  and  on  water.  If 
we  live  to  see  the  ships  floated  again,  or  beached  on  the 
sandy  margin  of  the  lake,  no  doubt  they  will  reveal  to  us 
the  secret  of  their  origin  and  of  their  fate. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

JEWISH    MEMORIALS    IN    ROME. 


THE  date  of  the  arrival  of  the  first  Jews  in  Rome  is  not 
known,  but  we  are  told  that  the  first  embassy  sent  by 
Judas  the  Maccabee  to  seek  the  friendship  of  the  mighty 
nation  was  received  by  the  Senate  in  160  B.  c.  Other  am- 
bassadors came  in  145  in  the  name  of  Jonathan,  brother 
and  successor  of  Judas.  The  final  treaty  of  friendship  and 
commerce  was  signed  only  in  139,  Simon,  the  third  Macca- 
bee, representing  his  nation,  Popillius  Laenas  and  Calpur- 
nius  Piso  being  consuls  at  Rome.  The  connection  of  this 
great  Hebrew  family  with  Rome  is  actually  recorded  by  a 
monument,  of  doubtful  authenticity,  it  is  true,  yet  very  cu- 
rious and  interesting.  While  the  new  "  Confessione  "  was 
being  excavated  and  built  at  the  foot  of  the  high  altar 
in  the  church  of  S.  Pietro  in  Vinculis.  September,  1876,  a 
marble  sarcophagus  was  found,  divided  into  seven  com- 
partments. The  sarcophagus  itself  is  an  indifferent  pro- 
duction of  a  Christian  stonecutter  of  the  fifth  century, 
with  bas-reliefs  representing  five  subjects :  the  raising  of 
Lazarus ;  the  miracle  of  the  loaves  and  fishes  ;  the  woman 

1  Compare  Emmanuel  Rodocanachi  :  Le  saint  Siege  et  les  Juifs,  le  Ghetto  a 
Rome,  Paris,  1891  (Bibliography,  pp.  xiii— xv)  ;  A.  Bertolotti,  "  Les  Juifs  k 
Rome  aux  xvi,  xvii,  xviii,  siecles,"  in  Revue  des  Etudes  juires,  1888,  fasc.  4  ;  Pie- 
tro Manfrin,  Gli  Ebrei  sotto  la  dominazione  romana,  Roma,  1888-1890 ;  Ettore 
Natali,  //  Ghetto  di  Roma,  1887 ;  W.  D.  Morrison,  The  Jews  under  the  Roman 
Rule,  3d  ed.,  London,  1896 ;  A.  Berliner,  Geschichte  der  Juden  in  Rom, 
Frankfurt,  1893  (Bibliography,  pp.  220-222)  ;  A.  S.  Barnes,  M.  A.,  St.  Peter  in 
Rome,  chap,  ii.,  London,  Sounenschein,  1900. 


216  JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

of  Samaria  at  the  well ;  Peter's  denial ;  and  Peter  receiv- 
ing the  keys.  The  partitions  were  made  with  slabs  of 
pavonazzetto,  marked,  I.,  II.,  III.,  IV.,  IIIII.,  IIIIII.  Each 
compartment  contained  a  thin  layer  of  ashes  and  splinters 
of  bones.  The  nature  of  the  contents  was  explained  by 
two  lead  labels  inscribed  with  the  following  words  :  "  In 
these  seven  '  loculi '  have  been  laid  to  rest  the  bones  and 
ashes  of  the  seven  holy  brothers  the  Maccabees,  of  their 
father  and  mother,  and  of  innumerable  other  saints." 
These  two  labels  date  from  the  twelfth  or  thirteenth  cen- 
tury. In  announcing  this  discovery  in  the  "  Bulletino  di 
archeologia  di  Cristiana,"  1876,  p.  73,  the  late  Comm.  de 
Rossi  said  that  it  required  maturer  and  closer  investiga- 
tion. Needless  to  say  that  the  results  of  his  critical  inquiry 
have  never  been  made  known. 

The  Jewish  colony  on  the  banks  of  the  Tiber  was  already 


The  sarcophagns  of  the  Maccabees. 

flourishing  at  the  time  of  Pompey  the  Great.  Their  pre- 
sence annoyed  Cicero.  "  You  know  what  is  their  num- 
ber," he  says,  in  "  Pro  Flacco,"  xxviii.,  "  their  union,  the 
power  of  their  assemblies.  I  will  speak  low,  therefore,  to 
be  heard  only  by  the  judges."  The  phrase  is  purely  orator- 
ical, but  it  bears  testimony  as  to  the  importance  and  influ- 
ence of  the  Ghetto  of  those  days.  Many  Jews  had  been 


JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME.  217 

brought  back  by  Pompey  as  prisoners  of  war  ;  and  after 
their  bonds  of  slavery  were  loosed  by  Julius  Ca3sar,  they 
were  allowed  to  form  a  separate  caste,  that  of  the  Libertini, 
a  humble  but  powerful  one.  The  Libertini  are  mentioned 
in  The  Acts  vi.  9,  as  forming  a  congregation  of  their  own 
in  Jerusalem  (17  crwayajy?)  17  Xeyo/xeVi?  Ai/SepnVoui'),  and 
probably  in  the  following  electoral  bill  discovered  at  Pom- 
peii, September  1,  1764  :  — 

CUSPIUM  •  PANSAM 
MV(ilem)  FABIUS  •  EUPOR  •  PRINCEPS  •  LIBERTINORUM  (rogat) 

De  Rossi  claims  that  this  Fabius  Eupor,  who  took  such 
a  lively  interest  in  the  election  of  Pansa  to  the  a3dileship, 
was  but  the  rabbi  of  the  local  Pompeian  synagogue ;  but 
his  opinion  is  not  shared  by  the  editor  of  vol.  iv.  of  the 
"  Corpus  Inscr.  Lat."  p.  13,  n.  117,  nor  by  Mommsen  in 
"  Rhein.  Mus."  1864,  p.  456. 

In  Rome  the  Jews  were  met  haunting  the  poorer  quar- 
ters, selling  matches,  collecting  old  hats,  shoes,  and  gar- 
ments, hawking  small  articles  of  wear,  begging  for  charity, 
teaching  their  children  to  do  the  same,  and  accepting  some- 
times broken  glass  instead  of  pennies.  And  when  the 
foundations  of  a  modest  fortune  were  laid,  they  would  turn 
usurers  and  money-lenders,  as  graphically  described  by 
Juvenal.  The  murder  of  Caesar,  who  had  made  them  free- 
men, was  mourned  by  them  as  a  national  calamity.  "  In  the 
general  consternation  of  the  city,"  Suetonius  relates,  "  all 
the  foreign  colonies  expressed  their  grief  ;  the  most  demon- 
strative being  the  Jews,  who  did  not  leave  the  Dictator's 
pyre  even  at  night." 

Augustus,  the  founder  of  the  Empire,  was  merciful  to 
the  Jews,  who  showed  themselves  loyal  subjects,  and  abid- 
ing by  the  Roman  laws,  to  the  protection  of  which  they 
often  appealed,  as  The  Acts  certify.  Their  community  was 


218  JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

numerous.  Philon  pretends  that  eight  thousand  Jews  sup- 
ported or  were  ready  to  support  his  remonstrances  to  Cali- 
gula ;  but  he,  like  all  other  Hebrew  annalists,  has  a  ten- 
dency to  exaggerate  the  importance  of  the  race.  The 
colony  was  deeply  attached  to  the  mother  country;  and 
every  year  a  rich  present  was  sent  from  Rome  to  the  temple 
of  Zion.  The  Jews  had  their  synagogues,  their  schools, 
their  literature,  their  poetry,  their  special  quarters,  their 
cemeteries ;  yet  they  possessed  no  moral  or  political  influ- 
ence. In  the  eyes  of  the  Romans  they  did  not  differ  from 
the  Egyptians,  the  Syrians,  the  Cappadocians,  and  other 
strangers,  whom  trading  interests  had  attracted  to  the  banks 
of  the  Tiber. 

Tiberius  did  not  share  the  feelings  of  tolerance  of 
his  predecessor  ;  he  determined  to  exterminate  the  colony, 
pushed  to  it  probably  by  Sejanus,  who  excited  and  favored 
all  the  bad  instincts  of  his  master,  hoping  to  make  him 
more  odious  and  insufferable  to  his  subjects.  After  the 
death  of  the  infamous  adviser,  Tiberius  returned  to  a  wiser 
policy  ;  the  surviving  Jews,  set  free  from  their  confinement 
in  Sardinia,  hastened  back  to  the  invincible  attractions  of 
the  capital. 

Caligula's  bosom  friend  was  the  Jew  Agrippa,  belonging 
to  the  family  of  Herod,  who  had  followed  the  fortunes  of 
Drusus  the  younger.  He  was  a  frivolous  and  dissipated 
young  man,  who  had  just  run  the  risk  of  losing  his  life  in 
the  persecution  of  Tiberius  ;  he  was  perhaps  the  only  repre- 
sentative of  his  race  devoted  to  Caligula ;  the  race  itself 
was  restive,  and  the  statue  of  the  young  Emperor  at  Jeru- 
salem found  no  worshipers.  He  revenged  himself  in  two 
ways  :  first  by  proclaiming  Agrippa  King  of  the  Jews,  —  a 
step  which  gave  rise  to  the  greatest  consternation  in  Judaea, 
—  and  then  by  offering  to  Philon  and  his  co-ambassadors 


JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 


219 


from  Alexandria  the  grotesque  reception  of  which  the  im- 
perial gardens  on  the  Esquiline,  called  the  Horti  Lamiani, 
were  the  scene. 

These  beautiful  gardens  were  largely  excavated  under  my 


HORT3\ 


Here  the  orcup  oh  tfw  N"Ldt>w4el,  new  tn 
ttv.  Uffi^.Hortncc.Wvs   fonrvA  in  U83. 


Plan  of  the  Lainian  Gardens. 


own  supervision  between  1873  and  1876,  and  they  yielded 
the  richest  archaeological  harvest  we  have  ever  been  able 
to  gather  in  Rome  from  a  single  spot  since  1870.  They 


220  JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

were  an  enchanted,  fairy -like  place,  extending  over  the 
highest  plateau  of  the  Esquiline,  from  which  such  a  glo- 
rious view  is  obtained  of  the  Alban,  the  Praenestinian,  and 
the  Sabine  hills.  The  Casino,  where  the  Jews  were  re- 
ceived, contained  apartments  two  stories  high,  with  windows 
having  panes  of  translucent  marble  instead  of  glass.  The 
halls  were  so  large  that  a  portrait  of  Nero  one  hundred 
and  twenty  feet  high  (35.64  metres)  could  be  painted  in 
one  of  them.  The  huge  canvas,  twice  as  large  as  the  main- 
sail of  a  frigate,  was  set  on  fire  by  lightning,  together  with 
the  Casino.  "  Pictura  accensa  fulmine  cum  optima  horto- 
rum  parte  conflagravit." J  I  have  myself  seen  a  gallery 
two  hundred  and  seventy-six  feet  long,  the  pavement  of 
which  was  inlaid  with  the  rarest  and  costliest  specimens 
of  alabastrine-agate,2  while  the  ceiling  was  supported  by 
twenty-four  fluted  columns  of  giallo  antico  resting  on  gilt 
bases ;  I  have  seen  another  apartment  paved  with  large 
slabs  of  occhio  di  pavone,3  the  walls  of  which  were  pan- 
elled with  crusts  of  black  slate  covered  with  graceful  ara- 
besques in  gold-leaf.  I  have  seen  a  third  hall  with  the 
floor  made  of  segments  of  alabaster,  framed  in  green 
enamel,  around  the  walls  of  which  were  jets  of  water,  four 
feet  apart,  which  must  have  crossed  each  other  in  various 
ways,  and  under  striking  plays  of  light.  All  these  things 
were  found  in  November,  1875. 

On  Christmas  eve  of  the  preceding  year,  while  our  men 

1  Pliny,  Hist.  not.  xxrv.  7,  33. 

2  A  section  of  this  pavement  was  removed  to  the  Gabinetto  delle  Meda- 
glie  in  the  Palazzo  dei  Conservator!.     Two  of  the  columns  have  been  placed 
in  the  passage  leading  from  the  Rotunda  of  the  same  palace  to  the  Sala  delle 
Terrecotte. 

3  The  occhio  di  pavone  is  a  conglomerate  of  round  shells  of  the  species  called 
Anomia  ampulla,  of  various  hues,  the  rarest  being  the  pavonazzo  or  purplish, 
of  which  there  are  two  magnificent  columns  in  the  Vatican  library. 


JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 


221 


were  excavating  the  rooms  at  the  corner  of  the  Via  Foscolo 
and  the  Via  Emmanuele  Filiberto,  at  the  north  end  of  the 
gallery  mentioned  above,  the  ground  gave  way,  giving  us 
access  to  a  crypt  or  cellar  on  the  floor  of  which  we  found 


One  of  the  tritons  discovered  December  24,  1874.  near  the 
northern  end  of  the  gallery  in  the  Lamian  Gardens. 

lying  the  celebrated  bust  of  Commodus  in  the  character  of 
Hercules,  flanked  by  two  tritons  or  marine  centaurs  and 
two  statues  representing  either  two  maiden  daughters  of 
Danaos  (according  to  Helbig)  or  the  Muses  Terpsichore 
and  Polyhymnia  (according  to  Visconti).  There  were  also 
the  Venus  Lamiana,  called  by  Helbig  "  a  girl  binding 
a  fillet  round  her  head "  (see  illustration,  page  223) ;  a 


222  JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

portrait  head  of  young  Commodus ;  a  head  of  Diana  ;  a 
Bacchus  of  semi-colossal  size,  with  drapery  of  gilt  bronze 
(missing) ;  and  about  twenty-five  legs,  arms,  hands,  and  feet 
belonging  to  statues  whose  bronze  drapery  had  likewise 
been  stolen  before  the  concealment. 

As  regards  the  furniture  of  this  delightful  palace,  I  find 
in  the  "  Bullettino  Comunale  "  of  1879,  p.  251,  the  follow- 
ing description  of  a  piece  discovered  in  September  of  the 
same  year  at  the  corner  of  the  Via  Buonarroti  and  the  Piazza 
Vittorio  Emmanuele,  eighty  or  ninety  yards  from  the  room 
in  which  the  statues  were  found :  "  It  is  not  possible  to 
ascertain  the  exact  shape  of  this  extraordinary  piece  of  fur- 
niture, which  had  the  frame  of  hard  wood,  encrusted  with 
gilt  metal,  and  studded  with  precious  stones.  Considering, 
however,  that  the  piece  was  supported  by  four  legs  exqui- 
sitely cut  in  rock-crystal,  connected  by  horizontal  bands  en- 
crusted with  gilt  festoons  and  bulls'  heads  like  a  frieze,  we 
are  led  to  think  it  either  a  state  chair  or  throne,  or  a  state 
bedstead.  One  hundred  fragments  of  the  brass  work,  as 
well  as  four  hundred  and  thirty  precious  stones,  with  which 
it  was  studded,  have  been  recovered.  There  are  carnelians, 
agates,  chrysolites,  topazes,  lapis  lazuli,  amethysts,  garnets, 
all  plain  ;  five  engraved  gems  representing  the  rape  of  Eu- 
ropa,  Venus,  a  lion,  a  butterfly,  a  male  bust ;  and  a  '  pasta 
vitrea,'  with  two  heads,  probably  of  Septimius  Severus  and 
his  Empress  Julia  Domna.  One  hundred  and  sixty-eight 
fragments  of  thin  crusts  of  agate  were  also  found  in  the  same 
room,  but  we  could  not  decide  whether  they  belonged  to  the 
same  bedstead  or  to  the  veneering  of  the  room  itself."  If 
we  recall  to  mind  that  from  these  same  imperial  Lamian  gar- 
dens come  such  world-renowned  masterpieces  as  the  Belve- 
dere Meleager,  the  Niobides,  and  the  two  Athletes,  now  in 
the  Galleria  degli  Uffizi ;  the  Nozze  Aldobrandiui,  now  in  the 


THE   VENUS   LAMIANA 


JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME.  225 

Vatican  Library  ;  the  Discobolos  of  Myron,  in  the  Lancellotti 
Palace  ;  the  Dancing  Women,  in  the  Museo  Chiaramonti ;  the 
Hercules,  removed  to  England  by  Colonel  Campbell,  and 
many  other  famous  marbles,  *we  may  get  an  approximate 
idea  of  what  a  Roman  garden  must  have  been  in  the  palmy 
days  of  the  Empire,  and  of  the  wonders  which  met  the  gaze 
of  the  Jewish  ambassadors  on  the  day  of  their  grotesque 
official  reception  by  Caligula. 

The  Lamian  gardens  acquired  fresh  notoriety  in  1620, 
when  they  became  the  property  of  the  Marchesi  di  Palom- 
bara  and  the  scene  of  their  mysterious  meetings  with  Chris- 
tina, Queen  of  Sweden,  then  engaged  in  the  follies  of  necro- 
mancy, and  in  the  search  for  the  philosopher's  stone  and 
perpetual  motion.  Contemporary  chronicles  relate  l  how 
the  queen,  having  taken  up  her  abode  in  Rome  in  1655,  set 
up  a  laboratory  for  experimenting  in  occult  sciences,  with 
the  help  of  the  most  distinguished  alchemists  of  the  age. 
One  day  a  youth  from  beyond  the  mountains  presented 
himself  before  the  queen,  and  asked  permission  to  work  in 
her  laboratory,  in  order  to  investigate  the  manner  of  mak- 
ing gold.  Having  obtained  this,  he  presented  himself 
again  to  the  queen,  after  a  few  days,  telling  her  that  he 
had  need  of  going  in  search  of  a  certain  herb,  in  order  to 
complete  the  operation,  and  entreating  her  to  grant  him 
a  hiding-place  in  which  to  deposit  during  his  absence  two 
vases  of  a  liquor  which,  mixed  with  the  herb,  would  become 
gold.  He  wished  also  that  this  secret  place  should  be 
locked  with  two  keys,  of  different  form,  one  to  be  kept 
by  the  queen,  the  other  by  himself.  Having  obtained  his 
request,  he  departed. 

Some  time  elapsed,  and  no  tidings  being  received  concern- 

1  The  best  account  by  Francesco  Caucellieri  in  his  pamphlet,  Sopra  la  statua 
del  Discobolo  scoperta  nella  villa  Palombara,  Roma,  1806,  p.  42,  n.  2. 


226  JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

ing  him,  the  queen,  irritated  at  being  thus  deluded,  caused 
the  hiding-place  to  be  opened  by  force,  and  found  the  liquor 
solidified  into  gold  in  one  vase  and  into  silver  in  the  other. 

Among  those  who  frequented  the  salons  of  Christina, 
was  the  Marquis  Massimiliano  Palombara,  Conservator  of 
Rome  for  the  years  1651  and  1677,  and  a  famous  alchemist. 
Having  heard  of  this  incident,  he  took  the  queen  severely 
to  task  for  having  allowed  such  a  master  in  this  art  to 
escape  without  revealing  his  secret. 

The  marquis  was  then  occupying  his  Esquiline  villa, 
where,  one  morning  in  1680,  he  saw  an  unknown  person 
enter  the  gate  on  the  side  of  the  Via  Merulana,  and  ex- 
amine attentively  the  ground,  apparently  looking  for  some 
mysterious  plant.  Surprised  by  the  servants,  the  pilgrim 
declared  that  he  was  in  search  of  an  herb  of  marvellous 
virtue,  and  that,  knowing  how  much  interested  the  proprie- 
tor of  the  villa  was  in  the  art  of  making  gold,  he  wished 
to  demonstrate  to  him  that  the  work,  though  difficult,  was 
not  impossible. 

It  is  easy  to  imagine  how  eagerly  the  marquis  welcomed 
him,  and  how  anxiously  he  watched  his  proceedings.  The 
pilgrim  crisped  and  pulverized  the  herb  gathered  in  the 
garden,  threw  it  into  the  crucible,  which  was  full  of  a  mys- 
terious liquor,  and  promised  his  host  that  on  the  next  morn- 
ing not  only  would  the  process  be  completed,  but  the  secret 
should  be  revealed  to  him. 

When  the  morning  came  and  nothing  was  seen  of  the 
pilgrim,  the  marquis,  fearing  that  something  had  happened 
to  him,  forced  open  the  door  of  his  room,  but  neither  here 
nor  in  the  adjoining  laboratory  were  there  any  signs  of 
him.  The  guest  had,  however,  liberally  kept  his  promise, 
for  not  only  from  the  broken  crucible  had  flowed  upon  the 
pavement  a  long  stream  of  the  purest  gold,  but  on  the 


JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME.  227 

table  lay  a  roll  of  parchment,  upon  which  were  traced  and 
written  various  enigmas,  which,  says  Cancellieri,  no  one  has 
been  able  up  to  this  time  to  explain,  nor  ever  will. 

The  Marquis  Palombara  caused  a  memorial  of  the  mys- 
terious pilgrim,  and  the  recipes  left  by  him  for  the  manu- 
facture of  gold,  to  be  cut  in  marble  and  exposed  to  the  eyes 
of  the  public.  One  of  the  recipes  says  :  "  Si  feceris  volare 
terram  super  caput  tuuin,  eius  pennis  aquas  torrentum  con- 
vertes  in  petram  "  (If  thou  wilt  make  earth  fly  over  thine 
head,  thou  canst  convert  the  waters  of  a  torrent  into  stone). 

Some  contain  precepts  of  secret  and  profound  wisdom, 
like  :  "  Si  sedes,  non  is !  "  (If  thou  sittest,  thou  advancest 
not) ;  or  else  :  "  Quando  in  tua  domo  nigri  corvi  parturiant 
albas  columbas  tune  vocaberis  sapiens  "  (When  in  thine 
house  black  crows  bring  forth  white  doves,  then  thou  shalt 
be  called  wise).  Others  are  an  absurd  play  upon  words  : 
"  Aqua,  a-qua  horti  irrigantur,  non  est  aqua  a-qua  horti 
aluntur,"  which  baffles  interpretation.  The  only  sentence 
adapted  to  all  times  is :  "  Hodie  pecunia  emitur  spuria  nobil- 
itas,  sed  non  legitima  sapientia  "  (You  can  purchase  with 
your  wealth  a  spurious  nobility,  but  not  true  wisdom). 

All  these  absurdities  were  actually  engraved  on  the  mar- 
ble posts  and  lintel  of  one  of  the  gates  of  the  villa,  hence 
called  the  Magic  Gate.  I  remember  having  seen  this  curi- 
ous document  of  human  idiosyncrasy  in  my  youth,  on  the 
right  side  of  the  road  which  then  led  from  S.  Maria  Mag- 
giore  to  S.  Croce  in  Gerusalemme,  nearly  opposite  the  ruin 
called  the  Trophies  of  Marius.  The  door  was  covered  with 
strange  symbols  in  Latin  and  Hebrew  letters,  and  astro- 
nomical and  cabalistic  signs  of  obscure  signification  ;  and 
every  week,  when  the  time  for  playing  the  Lotto  was  near- 
ing,  the  Magic  Gate  witnessed  an  assembly  of  aged  and 
filthy  beggars,  trying  to  get  the  key  to  the  meaning  of  the 


228 


JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 


signs,  and  secure  a  good  "  estrazione  "  from  the  wheel  of 
fortune.1  It  is  astonishing  to  think  how  the  Church  authori- 
ties could  have  left  this  gate  standing  and  claiming  such 


The  Magic  Gate  of  the  Palombara  Gardens,  now  in  the  Piazza 
Vittorio  Emmanuele  on  the  Esquiline. 


a  share  of  popular  wonderment,  when  the  august  names  of 
the  Trinity,  the  Blessed  Virgin,  and  the  Saviour  were  mixed 
up  with  profane  and  cabalistic  formulas. 

1  The  public  lottery  is  drawn  every  Saturday  at  two   o'clock,  five  num- 
bers being  drawn  from  the  wheel,  which  contains  ninety  in  all. 


JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 


229 


The  gate  was  removed  from  its  place  in  1876  and  set  up 
again  in  the  square  or  garden  of  the  Piazza  Vittorio  Em- 
manuele,  which  occupies  part  of  the  old  Lamian-Palombara 
estate. 

Three  other  monuments  of  classic  Rome  besides  the 
Lamian  gardens  refer  to  the  Jews :  the  Arch  of  Titus  on 


The  Arch  of  Titus  before  its  restoration. 


the  Summa  Sacra  Via,  the  triumphal  gate  of  the  Circus 
Maximus,  and  the  Temple  and  Forum  of  Peace.  There 
were  also  a  Jewish  quarter,  and  Jewish  schools,  and  many 
synagogues  and  catacombs. 


230  JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

The  Arch  of  Titus,  on  the  top  of  the  ridge  which  sepa- 
rates the  hollow  of  the  Forum  from  that  of  the  Coliseum,  is 
a  monument  too  well  known  to  require  a  special  notice.  It 
was  erected  after  the  death  and  the  deification  of  the  con- 
queror of  Jerusalem.  Its  interest  centres  in  the  high  relief 
of  the  right  pier  (on  the  side  of  the  Palatine)  on  which  the 
spoils  from  the  temple  of  Zion  are  represented.  These  are 
carried  by  the  victorious  soldiers  guarding  the  prisoners  of 
war,  all  of  whom  wear  crowns  of  laurel,  because  even  the 
conquered  warriors  were  compelled  to  rejoice,  at  least  in 
appearance,  in  their  own  defeat,  though  their  hands  are 
tied  behind  their  backs.  The  principal  trophies  of  war  are 
the  golden  table  with  some  of  the  sacred  vessels,  the  silver 
trumpets,  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  and  the  seven-branched 
candlestick.  According  to  Flavius  Josephus  these  objects 
were  not  the  original  ones,  but  imitations,  or,  as  it  were, 
emblems  of  the  Jewish  defeat,  as  shown  by  the  fact  that 
the  candelabra  shows  curved  branches,  instead  of  branches 
bent  at  right  angles  like  those  of  a  trident.  Describing 
the  incidents  of  the  triumph  of  Titus  in  "Jewish  War,"  vii. 
17,  Flavius  Josephus  remarks :  "  The  spoils  taken  from  the 
temple  of  Jerusalem  had  the  place  of  honor  among  the  tro- 
phies of  war  :  there  was  the  golden  table  weighing  several 
talents  and  the  golden  candlestick,  which,  however,  differed 
considerably  in  shape  from  the  one  in  use  among  us,  which 
is  formed  of  a  central  support  standing  on  a  base,  and 
seven  branches  bent  at  right  angles  like  a  seven-pronged 
trident."  The  last  objects  carried  in  the  triumphal  proces- 
sion were  the  Tables  of  the  Law. 

There  is  an  incident  in  the  history  of  this  arch  but  little 
known  to  students.  The  Frangipani,  having  raised  their 
great  Turris  Chartularia,  or  "  Tower  of  the  Records,"  on  the 
platform  of  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Stator,  close  by  the  arch, 


JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME.  231 

had  made  use  of  the  latter  for  the  main  gateway  of  their 
stronghold,  crowning  it  with  battlements  and  turrets.  No 
wonder  that  the  weight  of  these  superstructures  should  have 
impaired  the  stability  of  the  arch.  And  when  the  architect 
Valadier  was  commissioned  in  1822  by  Pope  Pius  VII.  to 
demolish  the  superstructures  and  restore  the  monument  to  its 
former  shape,  he  began  by  taking  most  careful  drawings  of 
the  joints  of  the  blocks  of  Pentelic  marble,  and  by  marking 
them  with  cross-marks ;  he  then  removed  such  parts  as  had 
been  disjointed  or  put  out  of  place  or  out  of  the  per- 
pendicular, strengthened  the  foundations,  rebuilt  the  arch, 
completing  the  missing  parts  in  plain  travertine,  and  left  us 
the  most  judicious,  the  cleverest,  and  the  most  laudable 
specimen  of  a  monumental  restoration  that  could  be  desired. 

The  same  process  had  been  followed  in  1811  by  the 
architect  Caniporese  in  pulling  down  the  temple  of  Vespa- 
sian on  the  Clivus  Capitolinus,  the  columns  of  which  leaned 
out  of  the  perpendicular  by  half  a  diameter,  and  replacing 
them  straight  on  more  solid  foundations.  Those,  however, 
were  happy  days  in  which  sovereigns  and  governments 
trusted  to  men  of  genius  who  had  won  their  confidence, 
and  this  confidence  was  not  shaken  by  criticisms  of  envious 
rivals  or  by  adverse  comments  of  the  press.  Should  we  try 
the  experiment  nowadays,  we  should  meet  with  a  different 
fate,  as  shown  by  the  following  incident,  which  took  place 
lately  in  the  Forum. 

On  the  southwestern  side  of  this  celebrated  place,  bor- 
dering on  the  Sacra  Via,  stand  eight  square  pedestals  of 
monumental  columns,  the  shafts  of  which,  varying  in  size 
and  quality,  are  lying  close  by.  Describing  these  pillars 
in  "  Ruins  and  Excavations,"  p.  258,  I  had  incidentally 
remarked  that  if  they  were  raised  once  more  on  their  ped- 
estals the  picturesqueness  and  the  interest  of  the  Forum 


232  JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

would  be  greatly  enhanced.  The  scheme  was  partially 
carried  out  in  February,  1899,  when  the  first  and  second 
columns,  counting  from  the  south,  were  set  up  again  on 
their  original  bases.  This  simple  and  matter-of-fact  process 
was  proclaimed  by  the  usual  critics  a  "  groundless  restora- 
tion." Deputations  waited  on  the  minister  to  offer  their 
remonstrances,  meetings  were  held,  protests  sent  to  the 
leading  papers,  and  yet  there  is  not  a  shade  of  doubt  that 
the  two  shafts  belong  to  the  individual  pedestals  upon 
which  they  have  been  replaced.  Both  were  discovered  in 
my  presence  in  1872.  The  first,  of  gray  granite,  once  cov- 
ered with  ornaments  of  gilt  bronze,  lay  broken  in  seven 
pieces,  partly  on  the  pavement  of  the  Sacra  Via,  partly  on 
the  stone  "  margo  "  of  the  Forum.  The  lower  half  of  the 
second  was  still  lying  as  it  fell,  in  a  slanting  position,  with 
the  lower  end  almost  level  with  the  top  of  the  pedestal, 
the  upper  end  nearly  touching  the  Sacra  Via.  This  state 
of  things  is  shown  not  only  by  contemporary  photographs, 
but  also  by  a  sketch  made  by  another  eye-witness,  the  late 
Professor  Heinrich  Jordan,  of  Konigsberg,  who  published 
it  on  p.  260  of  the  third  volume  (1879)  of  the  "  Ephe- 
meris  Epigraphica." 

The  conquest  of  Judaea  and  the  capture  of  Jerusalem 
were  commemorated  on  another  monument  of  classic  Rome, 
—  the  arch  at  the  curved  end  of  the  Circus  Maximus  called 
the  Porta  Triumphalis  because  the  winning  chariots  left 
the  arena  through  it.  Here  the  so-called  Anonymus  of 
Einsiedeln  saw,  many  centuries  ago,  the  original  inscrip- 
tion containing  the  following  words  :  "  The  Senate  and  the 
people  of  Rome  [dedicate  this  arch]  to  Titus,  son  of  Ves- 
pasian [in  the  year  81  A.  D.],  because,  acting  on  the  advice 
and  under  the  auspices  of  his  father,  he  has  conquered  the 


JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 


233 


nation  of  the  Jews,  and  has  taken  by  assault  and  destroyed 
the  city  of  Jerusalem,  a  success  which  no  leader  of  armies 
has  been  able  to  achieve  before."  Arch  and  inscription 
have  long  since  disappeared. 

The  third  monument  connected  with  the  same  events  is 


The  monumental  columns  on  the  Sacra  Via. 

the  Temple  and  Forum  of  Peace,  dedicated  by  Vespasian 
five  years  after  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  A.  D.  75.  Josephus 
("Jewish  War,"  vii.  5)  says:  "After  the  celebration  of 
the  triumph,  and  the  establishment  of  the  Roman  rule  in 
Judea,  Vespasian  determined  to  raise  a  monument  to  Peace, 
which  was  brought  to  completion  sooner  and  better  than  is 
generally  the  case  with  such  great  undertakings.  ...  In 
this  sacred  enclosure  were  collected  and  exhibited  number- 
less art  treasures,  to  see  which  men  are  ready  to  come  from 
all  quarters  of  the  earth,  and  among  these  the  objects  of 


234  JEWISH  ME  MORI  AS  IN  ROME. 

gold  (xpvcra  Karatr/cevao-/Aara)  which  had  been  found  in 
the  temple  of  the  Jews.  The  Tables  of  the  Law,  and  the 
purple  Veils  were  at  the  same  time  deposited  by  Vespa- 
sian's order  in  the  imperial  palace  (o>  rot?  /3ao-iXeiois)." 

The  art  gallery  of  the  Temple  of  Peace  included,  among 
other  masterpieces,  the  celebrated  lalysus  by  Protogenes, 
the  Scylla  by  Nicomachus,  the  Hero  by  Parrhasius ;  and, 
among  the  works  of  the  chisel,  a  set  of  athletic  statues  from 
Olympia  and  Argos  ;  the  Ganymedes  by  Leochares  ;  a  group 
of  the  Nile  surrounded  by  the  sixteen  infants,  cut  out  of  a 
single  block  of  reddish  basalt ;  an  exquisite  statue  of  Venus 
by  an  unknown  artist ;  a  bronze  by  Boethus,  representing 
a  boy  strangling  a  goose  ;  and  the  celebrated  Cow  of  Myron, 
praised  by  Cicero,  Ovid,  and  Pliny,  to  which  not  less  than 
thirty-six  epigrams  of  the  Anthology  are  dedicated.  The 
Bibliotheca  Pacis,  attached  to  the  temple,  is  mentioned  more 
than  once  by  Aulus  Gellius,  who  says  it  contained  books 
(for  instance,  the  commentaries  of  Lselius,  the  master  of 
Varro,  and  the  letters  of  Asinius  Capito)  that  could  not  be 
found  anywhere  else.  There  were,  in  the  last  place,  vaults 
and  safes  in  which  private  citizens  could  store  and  deposit 
their  valuables.  All  these  treasures  —  except  the  sacred 
vessels  of  the  Jews,  which  were  perhaps  kept  in  a  fire-proof 
compartment  —  perished  in  the  memorable  fire  of  Commo- 
dus,  A.  D.  .  191,  vivid  descriptions  of  which  are  given  by 
Galen,  Dion  Cassius,  and  Herodianus.  Galen  complains 
of  the  loss  of  the  first  two  books  of  his  Treatise,  the  ori- 
ginal manuscript  of  which  he  had  inadvertently  left  in 
his  office  on  the  Sacra  Via.  The  office  was  burnt  to  the 
ground  together  with  the  great  libraries  of  Peace  and  of 
the  imperial  palace.  Dion  Cassius  says  that  the  fire  origi- 
nated in  the  middle  of  the  night  in  a  private  dwelling,  and 
that  after  devastating  the  Forum  and  Temple  of  Peace, 


JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME.  237 

destroyed  the  Horrea  Piperataria,  that  is,  the  shops  where 
the  drugs  and  merchandise  from  Egypt  and  Arabia  were 
stored,  which  I  have  already  described  in  Chapter  II.  The 
vigiles  and  the  praetorians,  led  by  the  Emperor  himself,  did 
not  get  control  of  the  flames  until  the  whole  quarter  was 
turned  into  a  heap  of  smouldering  ruins. 

Herodianus,  another  contemporary  historian  (A.  D.  180- 
238),  is  inclined  to  give  to  the  conflagration  an  almost 
supernatural  cause,  and  mentions  at  the  same  time  a  shock 
of  earthquake,  a  thunderbolt,  and  flames  bursting  out  of 
the  earth.  He  calls  the  temple  and  its  surroundings  TO 
/xeytcrrov  KOL  Ka\\icrrov,  "  the  greatest  and  most  beautiful  " 
building  of  imperial  Rome.  Its  destruction  affected  morally 
and  materially  every  class  of  citizens,  on  account  of  the 
art  treasures  which  no  expenditure  could  ever  replace,  and 
of  the  valuables  and  personal  securities  which  had  been 
consumed  with  the  safes. 

After  a  lapse  of  eighteen  hundred  and  nine  years,  the 
traces  of  the  fire  of  Commodus  are  still  visible  within  and 
near  the  sacred  enclosure  of  Peace,  and  on  the  line  of  the 
Sacra  Via,  where  Galen's  office  and  consulting  rooms  stood 
among  the  stores  of  Eastern  goods.  These  traces  appear  at 
the  Templum  Sacrae  Urbis  (SS.  Cosma  e  Damiano)  in  the 
brick  restorations  made  by  Septimius  Severus  in  the  old 
stone  building ;  they  appear  also  in  the  ruins  of  the  Hor- 
rea Piperataria,  over  which  the  Basilica  of  Constantine  was 
afterwards  built ;  and  lastly  in  the  line  of  houses  and  stores 
bordering  on  the  Sacra  Via,  which  have  been  quite  lately 
reexhumed,  giving  us  a  vivid  picture  of  that  scene  of  deso- 
lation. 

Archaeologists  and  historians  disagree  as  regards  the 
fate  of  the  Forum  and  the  Temple  of  Peace  after  the  fire. 


238  JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

Nibby 1  and  Canina  contend  that  they  never  rose  from  their 
ashes ;  I  cannot  see  on  what  ground,  as  we  find  the  place 
constantly  mentioned  in  the  following  centuries.  The  bio- 
grapher of  the  Thirty  Tyrants  speaks  of  it  in  the  Life  of 
Victoria,  chap.  xxxi.  The  imperial  almanac  of  the  time 
of  Constantine  mentions  it  as  giving  its  name  to  the  fourth 
ward  of  the  City.  When  the  Emperor  Constantius  visited 
Rome  in  357,  he  was  led  to  behold  among  the  wonders  of 
the  metropolis  "  urbis  templum,  forumque  Pacis,  et  Pompeii 
theatrum."  Symmachus  speaks  of  having  entered  the 
forum,  in  the  seventy-eighth  letter  of  the  tenth  book.  De 
Rossi  has  discovered  in  the  library  of  St.  Gall  certain  frag- 
ments of  the  Chronicle  of  Horosius,  giving  an  account  of 
all  the  wonderful  and  fearful  events  which  marked  the 
decline  and  fall  of  Rome  from  the  fourth  to  the  sixth  cen- 
tury. One  of  these  records  says :  "In  the  year  408,  under 
the  consulship  of  Bassus  and  Philippus,  underground  rum- 
blings were  heard  in  the  Forum  of  Peace  for  seven  days." 
I  believe  the  true  solution  of  the  case  is  to  be  found  in  the 
following  passage  of  Procopius  (Goth.  iv.  21 ):  "A  drove 
of  oxen  was  led  through  the  forum  which  the  Romans  call 
of  Peace,  from  a  great  temple  which  lies  there  in  ruins,  hav- 
ing been  struck  by  lightning  in  the  old  times."  Procopius 
therefore  makes  a  distinction  between  the  temple,  which 
had  never  been  rebuilt  since  the  fire  of  Commodus,  and  the 
forum,  which  had  either  escaped  uninjured,  or  had  been 
thoroughly  restored.  We  know,  for  one  thing,  that  two,  at 
least,  of  the  masterpieces,  the  Cow  of  Myron  and  the  Gany- 
mede of  Leochares,  were  still  to  be  seen  in  the  forum  at  the 
time  of  the  Gothic  wars,  long  after  the  pillages  of  Alaric, 

1  Del  tempio  delta  Pace  e  delta  basilica  di  Constantino ;  Dissertazione  di  A. 
Nibby.    Roma,  de  Romanis,  1819.       Compare  Becker,  Topographic,  p.  440. 

2  Ammianus  Marcellinus,  xvi.  10. 


JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME.  239 

A.  D.  410,  of  Genseric,  A.  D.  455,  of  Ricimer,  A.  D.  472,  etc. 
For  the  bronze  Cow  we  have  the  authority  of  Procopius 
himself  (i.  120) ;  as  to  the  Ganymede  of  Leochares,  we 
know  that  the  pedestal  upon  which  this  celebrated  work 
of  art  stood  was  discovered  in  the  Forum  of  Peace  towards 


The  Ganymede  of  Leochares,  a  late  replica  discovered 
at  Fallerone. 

the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century.  This  pedestal  is  now 
preserved  in  the  Galleria  degli  Uffizi.  Ligorio,  who  wit- 
nessed the  find,  saw  also  a  piece  of  the  marble  group,  repre- 


240  JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

senting  the  eagle  carrying  off  the  beautiful  youth  to  Olym- 
pus. Considering,  however,  that  the  original  group  had 
not  been  chiselled  in  marble  by  Leochares,  but  cast  in 
bronze,  we  infer  that  the  bronze  had  perished  in  the  great 
conflagration  and  a  marble  copy  had  been  substituted  in  its 
place.  The  cut  on  page  239  represents  another  copy  of 
the  group,  discovered  at  Fallerone  (Faleria)  in  the  province 
of  Ancona,  and  placed  in  the  Galleria  dei  Candelabri  in  the 
time  of  Pius  VI. 

It  seems  hardly  possible  that  the  golden  vessels  from  the 
Temple  of  Zion,  placed  in  the  Temple  of  Peace  among  other 
trophies  of  war,  should  have  escaped  the  effects  of  the  fire, 
the  suddenness  and  violence  of  which  were  such  that  not 
even  the  state  archives  kept  in  the  adjoining  fire-proof 
building  (the  Templum  Sacrse  Urbis,  now  SS.  Cosma  e  Da- 
miano)  could  be  saved  from  destruction;  and  yet  there 
seems  to  be  little  doubt  on  the  point. 

According  to  Procopius  the  Jewish  spoils  were  carried  off 
by  King  Alaric  when  Rome  was  looted  in  August,  410,  and 
tradition  adds  that  when  Alaric  died  in  southern  Italy, 
near  the  city  of  Cosenza,  his  followers  buried  him  and  his 
treasures  in  the  bed  of  the  river  Busentinus,  first  diverting 
the  course  of  the  waters,  and  then  letting  them  flow  again 
over  the  tomb.  The  tradition  is  probably  a  new  and  re- 
vised edition  of  the  true  story  of  Decebalus,  king  of  the 
Dacians,  which  I  have  already  related  in  "  Ancient  Rome," 
p.  391.  According  to  another  version,  the  golden  spoils 
either  escaped  detection  at  the  time  of  Alaric  or  else  were 
only  partially  looted.  The  man  into  whose  hands  they  ulti- 
mately fell  was  Genseric,  who  stormed  Rome  in  June, 
455,  at  the  head  of  a  powerful  army  of  Vandals,  with  whom 
were  mixed  Bedouins  and  Moors.  Genseric  appears  to 
have  devoted  himself  mainly  to  the  plunder  of  the  temple 


JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME.  241 

of  Jupiter  Capitolinus ;  its  statues  were  carried  off  to  adorn 
the  residence  of  the  Vandal  kings  at  Carthage,  and  the 
roof  was  stripped  of  its  tiles  of  gilt  bronze.  That  portion 
of  the  Jewish  spoils  which  had  been  overlooked  by  Alaric 
in  410  was  apparently  landed  in  safety  at  Carthage.  Here 
it  was  discovered  eighty  years  later  by  Belisarius,  the  By- 
zantine general,  and  hence  it  was  removed  to  Constantino- 
ple, where  it  was  offered  as  a  present  to  the  Emperor  Jus- 
tinian. Justinian  sent  it  as  a  pious  offering  to  the  church 
of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  at  Jerusalem,  whence  it  was  carried 
away  in  614  by  the  Persian  conqueror  Chosroes. 

Whichever  of  these  versions  deserves  credit,  or  whether 
neither  one  of  them  is  worthy  of  it,  the  Tiber  is  at  all 
events  out  of  the  question.  The  tradition  that  the  seven- 
branched  candlestick  was  thrown  into  its  muddy  bed  is  very 
old,  and  the  writers  of  the  Talmud,  to  make  it  lie  in  a 
more  decent  place,  state  that  the  bottom  of  the  river  be- 
tween Rome  and  Ostia  is  paved  with  sheets  of  solid  metal, 
stolen  from  Palestine  by  the  emperors.  President  Charles 
de  Brosses,  in  one  of  his  "  Lettres  sur  1'Italie,"  relates  that 
under  Pope  Benedict  XIV.  (1740-1758)  the  Jews  asked  per- 
mission to  drain  the  river  at  their  own  expense,  provided 
they  could  get  undisturbed  possession  of  the  treasures  which 
their  undertaking  might  eventually  bring  to  light.  Ac- 
cording to  the  same  writer  the  Pope  withheld  his  consent 
for  fear  that  the  stirring  up  of  the  mud  and  silt  of  the  river 
would  generate  the  plague.  Dignum  patella  operculum  ! 
The  simple-minded  president  did  not  perceive  that  his  cice- 
rone was  taking  advantage  of  his  good  faith. 

The  Ghetto  of  classic  Rome  was  on  the  right  bank  of 
the  Tiber,  among  the  slums  of  the  Trastevere.  In  the 
early  days  of  the  City,  the  region  between  the  river  and  the 
Janiculum  was  made  so  unhealthy  by  sluggish  streams  and 


242  JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

pools  of  stagnant  water  that  it  was  chosen  by  the  Senate 
as  the  place  of  relegation  for  prisoners  of  war  whom  they 
wished  to  destroy.  Here  were  led  the  inhabitants  of  Tel- 
lene,  Ficana,  and  Medullia  after  the  capture  of  their  villages, 
and  also  the  leading  citizens  of  Capua,  who  had  sided  with 
Hannibal.  If  many  of  their  number  perished,  many  also 
lived  to  form  in  progress  of  time  a  poor  and  unhealthy  but 
populous  quarter.  Boatmen,  lightermen,  tanners,  dyers, 
scavengers,  carriers  joined  the  original  settlers,  together 
with  beggars  and  vagabonds,  and  that  shady  class  of  stran- 
gers who  flock  to  the  great  cities  in  quest  of  fortune  or 
shelter. 

The  first  Jew  colonists,  driven  from  their  native  land  by 
poverty  or  brought  as  slaves  behind  the  chariots  of  Roman 
conquerors,  took  refuge  in  this  wretched  district,  where  the 
Syrians,  their  neighbors,  had  preceded  them,  and  where 
they  felt  at  home  among  a  crowd  of  pariahs.  Juvenal  de- 
scribes another  small  Jewish  centre,  just  outside  the  Porta 
Capena,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  sacred  grove  of  Egeria, 
their  furniture  being  restricted  to  a  basket  suspended  from 
a  tree  and  a  bundle  of  straw. 

Yet  some,  if  not  many,  of  the  Jewish  immigrants  be- 
came wealthy,  rose  in  the  scale  of  society,  and,  leaving  the 
abject  home  of  their  coreligionaries  in  the  Trastevere, 
settled  in  the  most  fashionable  streets  of  the  City,  where 
they  could  make  a  loud  display  of  their  wealth,  and  built 
their  family  mausolea  in  the  aristocratic  cemeteries  of  the 
Via  Appia  and  the  Via  Latina.  Of  this  practice  we  have 
a  curious  but  little  known  piece  of  evidence,  in  a  sarco- 
phagus now  preserved  in  the  court  of  the  Palazzo  Spada 
among  other  relics  discovered  by  Cardinal  Girolamo  Spada- 
Veralli  when  he  restored  the  church  of  S.  Agnese  fuori  le 
Mura  after  the  pillage  of  1527.  According  to  the  inscrip- 


JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 


243 


tion,  engraved  in  a  style  characteristic  of  the  Severian 
age,  the  sarcophagus  belonged  to  a  Jewish  lady  of  rank, 
named  Julia  Irene  Arista,  mother  of  Atronius  Tullianus 
Eusebius,  senator  of  the  empire,  "  vir  clarissimus."  The 
pious  lady,  faithful  to  the  law  of  God  (juste  legem  colens\ 
after  having  been  delivered  from  a  mortal  illness,  "  Dei 
virtute  et  fide  mea  nobis  conservata,"  lived  happily  to  a 
green  old  age,  and  was  buried  in  the  fashionable  cemetery 


The  Trastevere  in  the  middle  ages,  from  a  sketch  now  in  the  library  of  the  Escurial. 

of  the  Via  Nomentana,  where  probably  she  and  her  son 
owned  property.  The  interest  of  this  remarkable  document 
centres  in  the  title  of  "  vir  clarissimus "  claimed  by  the 
son,  of  which  no  other  example  is  to  be  found  in  Roman 
epigraphy :  an  explanation,  however,  of  this  singularity 
is  to  be  found  in  the  following  passage  of  Ulpianus,  "  De 
Officio  Proconsulis "  :  *  "  Septimius  Severus  and  his  son 
Caracalla  allowed  the  adepts  of  the  Jewish  superstition  to 
reach  the  highest  honors  and  offices." 

1  Pandect,  De  decurionibus ,  leg.  3  d. 


244  JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

The  headquarters  of  the  Jews  remained,  nevertheless, 
in  the  Transtiberine  district,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  harbor, 
where  vast  numbers  of  Greek,  Syrian,  Alexandrine,  and 
Carthaginian  ships  were  always  moored,  allowing  them  to 
carry  on  a  brisk  trade  with  the  motley  crews.1  Here  also 
were  their  best  schools,  their  law-courts  (Bath-Dim),  and  the 
central  synagogue  where  the  banished  sons  of  Abraham 
might  behold  a  good  yet  deceptive  reproduction  of  the  sanc- 
tuary of  Zion. 

Nine  other  synagogues  are  mentioned  in  connection  with 
other  quarters  of  the  City,  viz.,  those  of  the  Augustans,  of 
the  Agrippans 2  of  the  Campus,  of  the  Campus  and  Vo- 
lumnus,  of  the  Subura,  of  Eleia,  of  the  lime-burners,  of  the 
Rhodians,  and  of  the  harbor  of  Rome  (Portus  Augusti). 
Their  rabbis  were  called  "  gerusiarchi,"  or  "  archontes," 
or  "  archisynagogi."  We  find  also  among  their  dignitaries 
several  "fathers  and  mothers  of  the  synagogue,"  and 
scribes,  and  patrons,  and  readers  of  the  law. 

The  best  known  of  the  Jewish  suburban  cemeteries  is 
the  one  discovered  by  Antonio  Bosio  in  the  hills  of  Monte 
Verde,  not  far  from  the  present  railway  station  by  the 
Porta  Portese.  This  Columbus  of  underground  Rome  ex- 
plored the  long-forgotten  crypts  on  December  14  of  the 
year  1602,  and  attributed  them  to  the  Jewish  Transtiberine 
community  on  account  of  the  seven-branched  candle- 
stick, and  of  the  formula,  "  Here  rests  in  peace,"  by  which 
the  tombstones  were  distinguished.  Bosio  did  not  carry 
his  exploration  very  far,  probably  on  account  of  the  crum- 
bling and  dangerous  state  of  the  crypts.  Bianchini,  the 

1  The  Jews  themselves  did  occasionally  take  to  the  sea.     Several  proscinema 
by  Jewish  sailors  have  been  found  engraved  on  the  rocks  of  the  little  harbor 
of  Grammata  in  the  island  of  Syra. 

2  King  Herod  had  given  the  same  names  of  Augustus  and  Agrippa  to  two 
wings  of  his  palace.     See  Josephus,  Antiq.  xv.  9,  3. 


CHAIR    IN    THE    SYNAGOGUE    OK   MODKRX    ROME 


JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME.  247 

great  archaeological  explorer,  claims  to  have  entered  the 
same  place  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  last  century.1  Gaetano 
Migliore,  who  followed  at  a  later  period  Bianchini's  foot- 
steps, says  :  "  I  could  not  advance  very  far  on  account  of  the 
falling  stones,  yet  I  saw  with  my  own  eyes  cubicula,  arcoso- 
lia,  loculi,  all  utterly  devastated,  and  also,  I  believe,  scattered 
pieces  of  Jewish  emblems.  I  did  my  best  to  enter  the 
deepest  recesses  of  this  old  burial-place,  but  I  was  obliged 
to  retire  because  the  very  sound  of  my  footsteps  seemed  to 
hasten  the  fall  of  the  crumbling  rocks."  Since  Migliore's 
attempt  no  one  has  entered  the  place ;  Padre  Marchi  tried 
to  rediscover  its  entrance  in  1843,  but  without  success.  In 
1892  I  watched  for  weeks  and  weeks  the  attempts  of  a 
man  —  a  painter  by  profession  —  to  cut  a  passage  through 
the  layer  of  loose  earth  at  a  spot  which  had  been  pointed 
out  to  him  by  an  old  gardener  as  the  entrance  to  a  "  sub- 
terranean palace."  That  man  had  actually  cut  with  his 
own  hands  a  gallery  four  feet  high  and  fifteen  feet  long, 
when  he  was  compelled  to  abandon  the  attempt.  I  cannot 
tell  whether  the  rock-cut  door  which  he  had  reached  led 
to  the  long-lost  Jewish  catacomb,  or  to  a  Christian  one,  be- 
cause the  fragments  of  inscriptions  found  in  the  loose  earth 
bore  no  characteristic  religious  symbols  ;  but  I  am  rather 
inclined  to  think  the  latter,  because,  if  we  believe  what 
Fioravante  Martinelli  says  in  his  "  Roma  ricercata,"  p.  20, 
the  crypts  seen  by  Bosio  were  destroyed  at  the  time  of 
Urban  VIII.,  when  the  new  line  of  city  walls  was  raised  on 
the  ridge  of  the  Janiculum.  At  all  events,  this  ridge  is 
so  honeycombed  with  catacombs  that  it  is  difficult  to  single 
them  out  and  ascertain  their  origin.  Sixteen  years  after 
his  first  discovery,  Bosio  found  a  second  catacomb  in  the 


1  Delle  porte  Romane,  p.  70. 

2  Cod.  Vatic.  9143. 


248  JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

same  spur  of  the  hill.  Benjamin  of  Tudela  must  refer  to 
one  of  these  places  of  entombment  when  he  describes  a 
cave  near  the  Tiber  containing  the  tomb  of  the  "  ten  mar- 
tyrs of  the  kingdom,"  that  is,  of  the  ten  Hebrews,  preachers 
of  the  Mishna,  who  had  given  their  life  for  their  faith.1 
The  whole  district  outside  the  Porta  Portese  has  retained 
its  connection  with  the  Ghetto  of  ancient  Rome  up  to 
our  own  days,  the  plain  between  the  Via  Portuense  and 
the  foot  of  the  hills  being  called  "  Ortaccio  degli  Ebrei," 
just  as  in  by-gone  times  it  bore  the  name  of  "  Campus 
ludaeoriim  "  or  "  Contrata  Hebreorum."  The  construction 
of  the  new  railway  station  has  altered  the  whole  aspect  of 
the  place. 

Other  cemeteries  have  been  discovered  on  the  Via  Appia 
and  the  Via  Labicana,  the  best  of  all  being  the  one  first 
entered  on  May  1,  1859,  in  the  Vigna  Randanini,  oppo- 
site the  church  of  S.  Sebastiano.  It  is  still  open  to  visitors. 
The  one  found  in  1867  on  the  same  road  in  the  vineyard  of 
Count  Cimarra  is  briefly  described  by  de  Rossi,  "Bullettino 
di  archeologia  cristiana,"  1867,  n.  1.  Its  inscriptions  have 
never  been  published  in  full.  Those  found  in  1883  on  the 
Via  Labicana,  and  in  1885  on  the  Via  Appia  Pignattelli 
have  been  illustrated  respectively  by  Marucchi  and  Miiller. 
From  their  tombstones  we  gather  that  some  of  the  Roman 
Jews  kept  their  own  or  gave  to  their  children  Biblical 
names  slightly  Latinized,  such  as  Aster  (Esther),  Gadia 
(Gaddi),  lonata,  Semoel,  Sarah,  Lea,  etc.  Others  adopted 
Greek  or  Latin  names,  borrowing  the  "  gentilicium  "  from 
patrician  families  or  individuals,  to  whom  probably  they 
had  lent  money,  or  rendered  service  for  a  consideration. 

1  Basnage  de  Beauval,  Histoire  des  Juifs,  La  Have,  1716.  The  vineyard  in 
which  Bosio  made  his  discoveries  belonged  in  1602  to  the  Ruffini  family,  and 
later  on  to  Muzio  Vitozzi.  See  Armellini,  Cronichetta  Mensile,  1879,  p.  27. 


JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 


249 


The  Jewish  cemetery  at  the  Circus  Maximus  as  seen  from  the  Aventine. 

Thus  we  find  two  ^Elii,  one  Emilia,  and  several  Flavii, 
although  this  last  was  the  family  name  of  the  two  hated 
conquerors  of  Judaea,  Vespasian  and  Titus.  Still  more 
remarkable  is  the  occurrence  of  many  pagan  and  decidedly 
profane  names,  such  as  Aphrodisia,  Asclepiodote,  etc. 

The  head  synagogue,  mentioned  above,  is  placed  by 
topographers  in  the  neighborhood  of  S.  Cecilia,  because  the 
adjoining  street  was  known  in  the  middle  ages  by  the  name 
of  "  Rua  Judseorum."  Its  precious  contents  —  tapestries 
woven  of  gold  threads,  gold  plate,  etc.  -  -  were  plundered 
by  the  populace  at  the  time  of  King  Theoderic ;  but  the 
Jews  repaired  the  damages  soon  after. 

It  does  not  appear  that  their  Transtiberine  quarter  had 
a  fixed  boundary  like  the  Ghetto  of  later  times ;  but  the 
spirit  of  brotherhood  which  seems  innate  in  the  Jewish  race 
kept  them  clustered  and  huddled  together  around  their 


250  JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

temple.  It  was  only  after  the  pillage  of  Rome  by  Robert 
Guiscard,  in  1084,  that  they  migrated,  with  their  neighbors 
the  tanners,  to  the  opposite  bank  of  the  Tiber,1  and  settled 
among  the  remains  of  the  Porticus  Octavise,  the  Porti- 
cus  Philippi,  and  the  Theatre  of  Marcellus,  not  far  from 
the  Fabrician  bridge,  which  was  henceforth  named  "  Pons 
Judeorum."  They  continued,  however,  to  bury  their  dead 
in  the  old  Ortaccio  near  S.  Francesco  a  Ripa,  until  they 
obtained  from  the  City  another  "  field  of  death  "  among  the 
ruins  of  the  Circus  Maximus  under  S.  Prisca.  This  last 
cemetery  is  still  in  existence.  (See  cut  on  page  249.) 

The  Jews  were  not  many  at  the  time  of  this  migration. 
Benjamin  of  Tudela,  who  visited  Rome  in  1165,  says  :  "  My 
fellow-worshippers  number  about  two  hundred,  all  honest 
men,  independent,  paying  tribute  to  nobody.  Some  hold 
important  offices  in  the  court  of  Pope  Alexander  III.  [1159- 
1181],  like  David  Magnus,  and  R.  Jechiel,  B.  Abraham,  a 
bright  and  courteous  youth,  who  is  intendant  of  the  Pope's 
household."  One  of  the  squares  of  the  Rione  Regola, 
destroyed  in  1887  to  make  room  for  the  new  Via  Arenula, 
was  called  Piazza  dei  Branca,  from  the  illustrious  Jewish 
family  of  that  name  —  the  Branca  di  Clausura  —  which 
flourished  in  the  fourteenth  century.  The  most  famous 
and  powerful  Roman  family  of  the  middle  ages,  the  pillar 
of  the  Church,  the  representative  of  the  Pope's  judicial 
power,  the  warder  of  the  Pope's  state  prison,  the  Pier- 
leoni,  were  also  of  Jewish  extraction.  The  grandfather  of 
"  Peter  son  of  Leo  "  (Petrus  Leonis,  Pierleone)  having  lent 
to  and  gained  large  sums  of  money  from  the  Holy  See,  and 
seeing  the  prospect  of  larger  gains  and  political  influence, 

1  The  latest  record  of  the  residence  of  the  Jews  in  the  Trastevere  is  to  be 
found  in  a  deed  of  1515  in  the  state  Archives,  vol.  1121,  p.  291,  where  the 
"  Curia  Judeorum  "  is  mentioned  in  the  neighborhood  of  S.  Cecilia. 


JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  HOME. 


251 


A  window  of  the  Pierleoni  house.  Via  di  Ports.  Leone. 

abjured  the  faith  of  his  fathers  and  was  baptized  under  the 
name  of  Benedictus  Christianus,  which  was  that  of  the 
reigning  Pope  Benedict  IX.  (1033-1046).  His  son  was 
likewise  named  from  the  Pope  Leo  IX.  (1049-1055),  and  his 
grandson,  the  real  founder  of  the  Pierleoni  dynasty,  as- 
sumed the  name  of  the  Prince  of  the  Apostles.  The  great- 
grandson  became  the  antipope  Anacletus  II.  !  It  seems 
that  this  family  of  mediaeval  Rothschilds,  made  barons  of 
the  holy  Roman  empire  by  their  apostolic  debtors,  were 
afflicted  for  generations  with  the  most  pronounced  Jewish 
features.  They  could  not  get  rid  of  a  sallow  complexion, 


252  JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

a  nose  like  a  hawk's,  and  curly  black  hair.  Orderic  Vitalis 
describes  one  of  them,  who  sat  in  the  Synod  of  Rheims  in 
1119,  as  "nigrum  et  pallidum  adolescentem,  magis  Judeo 
vel  Agareno,  quam  Christiano  similem,"  and  Arnulfus  also 
expatiates  on  the  forbidding  Jewish  appearance  of  Anacle- 
tus  II. 

These  feelings  of  repulsion,  however,  were  not  shared 
by  the  fair  ladies  of  the  Roman  patriciate,  to  judge  from 
their  anxiety  to  marry  the  wealthy  sons  of  Peter.  These 
had  established  their  headquarters  over  the  remains  of  the 
Theatre  of  Marcellus,  where  the  Palazzo  Orsini  now  stands, 
while  their  vassals  and  servants  and  gens-d'armes  oc- 
cupied the  quarter  between  the  theatre,  the  Tiber,  and  the 
Forum  Boarium,  which  we  still  call  "  quartiere  di  Porta 
Leone,"  a  picturesque  cluster  of  medieval  houses  and 
towers  and  lanes  but  little  known  to  tourists. 

The  island  of  the  Tiber,  crowned  with  towers,  —  one  of 
which  is  still  to  be  seen  at  the  west  entrance  to  the  Fabri- 
cian  bridge  (Ponte  Quattro  Capi,  Pons  Judeorum),  —  served 
as  tete-de-pont.  Pope  Urban  II.,  who  had  made  the  Pier- 
leoni  warders  of  the  Castle  of  S.  Angelo,  died  in  their 
house  "  apud  sanctum  Nicolaum  in  Carcere,"  in  1099.  The 
constant  friendship  of  the  Popes,  their  high  connections 
by  marriage,  unlimited  wealth,  and  great  political  power, 
made  the  world  soon  forget  the  humble  origin  of  the  fam- 
ily. The  Frangipane,  as  representative  of  the  Ghibelline 
faction,  did  not  yield  to  the  general  feeling ;  and  their 
hatred  of  the  Jewish  parvenus,  who  claimed  the  leadership 
of  the  Guelph  party,  more  than  once  caused  trouble  and 
bloodshed  within  the  walls  of  the  City.  At  last  peace  was 
sealed  by  marriage  and  by  the  common  pretense  of  both 
families  to  kinsmanship  as  collateral  descendants  of  the 
Anicii. 


JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 


253 


Tradition  says  that  two  Pierleoni  migrated  to  Germany 
towards  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  where  they 
became  the  head  of  the  Hapsburg  family.  This  story  was 
credited  not  only  in  Rome  but  also  in  Austria,  until  the 
emperors  of  the  house  of  Hapsburg  found  out  that  their 
alleged  relationship  with  the  Pierleoni  would  make  them 
seek  for  their  forefathers  in  the  Ghetto  of  medieval  Rome. 
By  a  welcome  chance  of  fate  we  still  possess  the  tombs  of 
the  founder  and  of  the  last  representative  of  the  great  fam- 
ily. The  founder  died  on  June  2,  1128,  and  while  the 
graves  of  contemporary  Popes  are  all  lost,  the  coffin  of  the 


The  tomb  of  the  great  Pierleone  in  the  cloisters  of  St.  Paul's. 

Hebrew  Croesus  still  lies  under  the  southern  wing  of  the 
beautiful  cloisters  of  St.  Paul's.  It  is  a  marble  sarcopha- 
gus of  the  third  century,  with  bas-reliefs  representing 
Apollo,  Marsyas,  and  the  Muses,  and  a  panel  inscribed  with 
the  following  words  :  — 

"  May  Peter  and  Paul,  to  whom  you  were  so  faithful,  protect  you,  Peter,  son 
of  Leo,  and  welcome  your  soul  into  the  glory  of  heaven,"  etc. 


254  JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

Of  the  last  representative  of  the  family,  Lucretia,  daugh- 
ter of  Luke,  we  have  a  bust  and  an  inscription  dated  1582, 
in  the  church  of  S.  Maria  della  Consolazione.1  Lucretia  pro- 
claims herself  "  the  only  surviving  daughter  of  the  most 
noble  Roman  and  Austrian  race." 

In  pursuing  a  mild  and  lenient  policy  towards  the  sons 
of  Israel,  the  Popes  followed  the  advice  of  the  Fathers  of 
the  Church,  such  as  Gregory  the  Great  and  Thomas  Aqui- 
nas ; 2  and  besides,  they  were  too  often  in  need  of  financial 
help  to  lose  the  good-will  of  their  bankers.  In  a  docu- 
ment preserved  in  Cod.  Vatic.  7711,  the  average  amount  of 
money  borrowed  from  this  source  is  valued  at  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  scudi  for  a  period  of  thirty  years.  The 
Jews  themselves  borrowed  considerable  sums  from  Christian 
bankers  at  four  per  cent.,  lending  it  in  turn  to  more  needy 
customers  at  eighteen. 

Another  reason  for  their  peaceful  life  in  the  capital  of 
the  Christian  world  must  be  found  in  their  skill  in  medi- 
cine, and  in  their  kindness  in  treating  the  poor.  Towards 
the  end  of  the  fourteenth  century  a  doctor  named  Emman- 
uel and  his  son  Angelo  rose  to  such  celebrity  that  the 
city  council  in  the  plenary  sitting  of  May  8,  1385,  granted 
special  privileges  in  their  favor,  "  because  they  are  so  brave 
and  merciful  in  the  exercise  of  the  healing  art,  attending 
gratuitously  the  needy."  These  privileges  were  confirmed 
in  July,  1392,  by  Boniface  IX.  in  a  letter  which  begins : 
"  Bonifacius  .  .  .  dilecto  filio  Angelo  Manuelis  Judei  .  .  . 
nato  Judeo,  medico  et  familiari  nostro  salutem  !  "  Martin 
V.  and  Eugene  IV.  were  attended  in  their  ailments  by  the 
Jew  doctor  Elihu,  Innocent  VII.  by  Elihu  Sabbati,  Pius  II. 
by  Moses  of  Rieti.  Infessura  the  Diarist  relates  how  Inno- 

1  Second  chapel  ou  the  right. 

2  Gregory's  Epist.  viii.  25  ;  Thomas  Aq.  Epist.  363. 


JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 


255 


cent  VIII.,  at  the  point  of  death,  yielded  to  the  suggestion 
of  a  Jew  charlatan  to  have  his  blood  rejuvenated  with  the 
blood  of  three  boys.  The  result  of  the  operation  was  that 
the  Pope  died  as  well  as  the  three  boys,  but  the  charlatan 
saved  himself  by  a  prompt  flight.  The  ^Esculapius,  the 
Galen,  the  Prince  of  the  Jewish  medical  school  in  Rome, 
was  without  doubt  the  Rabbi  Samuel  Sarfati,  of  Spanish 
extraction,  who  rose  to  the  much  envied  position  of  Pon- 
tifical Archiater  at  the  time  of  Julius  II.  His  wonderful 


The  Ghetto  at  the  time  of  Paul  V. .  from  a  contemporary  engraving. 

career   has  been    described   by   Marini  in  his   "  Archiatri 
Pontificii,"  vol.  i.  p.  290. 

Paul  IV.,  Caraffa,  in  opposition  to  the  policy  of  his  pre- 
decessors, put  an  end,  for  the  time  being,  to  the  peaceful 
state  of  the  colony.  His  constitution,  cum  nimis  absur- 


256  JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

dum,  dated  July  15,  1555,  orders  that  the  Jews  must 
henceforth  live  apart  from  the  Christians  in  a  quarter  of 
their  own,  to  be  surrounded  by  a  wall  with  but  one  entrance 
and  one  exit.  The  bishop  of  Ischia,  governor  of  Rome,  en- 
forced obedience  to  the  decree  so  strictly  that  on  the  27th 
of  the  month,  that  is,  twelve  days  after  its  promulgation, 
the  Jews  were  already  immured  in  their  pen.  Four  Chris- 
tian churches  which  happened  to  fall  within  the  enclosure 
were  sacrificed  to  save  them  from  the  unwelcome  contact, 
—  S.  Lorenzo  dei  Cavalluzzi  (belonging  to  the  Armenians, 
who  received  in  exchange  the  beautiful  temple  of  Fortune 
by  the  Forum  Boarium,  Christianized  under  the  name  of 
S.  Maria  Egiziaca),  S.  Leonardo  de  Platea  Judeorum,  S.  Sal- 
vatore  dei  Baroncini,  and  a  fourth  dedicated  to  the  un- 
heard-of saints  Patermuzio  and  Coppete. 

The  boundary  wall  was  enlarged  from  time  to  time,  and 
the  number  of  gates  increased  first  to  five,  later  to  eight. 
The  gates  were  closed  at  seven  o'clock  in  winter  and  at  eight 
in  summer.  The  Mattei  family  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  fur- 
nishing the  gatekeepers  for  a  yearly  remuneration  of  one 
hundred  and  sixty-three  scudi  and  twenty  bajocchi.  The 
Ghetto  was  furnished  with  a  slaughter-house  (which  I  have 
seen  in  the  place  where  Prince  Orsini  now  has  his  stables), 
and  with  bakeries  for  the  azim  bread.  The  bakeries  were 
located  in  the  lane  called  after  them  delle  Azimelle,  a  con- 
gested, evil-smelling  alley,  demolished  in  1888.  The  Ghetto 
was  a  wretched  place,  and  it  is  one  of  the  glories  of  the 
early  pontificate  of  Pius  IX.  to  have  destroyed  its  bound- 
ary wall,  thrown  open  its  gates,  and  broken  the  chains 
which  fettered  the  faithful  Jews.  When  Gregorovius  visited 
Rome  for  the  first  time  fifty  years  ago,  the  whole  Ghetto 
was  inundated  by  the  Tiber  as  far  as  the  Propylaia  of  Oc- 
tavia's  portico  ;  yet  the  place  was  not  essentially  unhealthy : 


JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 


257 


in  fact,  more  than  once  it  has  enjoyed  immunity  from  epi- 
demics which  ravaged  the  rest  of  the  town. 

The  first  Pope  who  caused  the  inhabitants  of  the  Ghetto 
to  wear  a  sign  by  which  they  could  be  distinguished  from 


Vanished  Rome.     A  street  scene  in  the  old  Ghetto. 


their  Christian  fellow-citizens  was  Martin  V.  The  signs 
varied  with  time  and  with  the  caprice  of  the  ruler.  We 
hear  at  first  of  "  tabarri  rubei,"  flaming-red  overcoats  which 
had  to  be  worn  by  the  unfortunate  brotherhood  winter  and 
summer,  by  men  and  women  alike.  At  Ferrara,  where  the 


258  JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

number  of  the  Jews  had  increased  alarmingly  since  their 
banishment  from  Spain  and  from  Portugal,  Duke  Hercules 
selected  as  a  mark  the  letter  0  in  yellow  ochre,  to  be  worn 
sewed  on  their  breast.  Paul  IV.,  their  great  persecutor, 
changed  the  red  overcoat  for  a  conical  cap  of  orange  hue, 
not  unlike  in  shape  to  the  one  characteristic  of  our  popu- 
lar mask,  Pulcinella ;  for  which  fresh  insult  the  Jews  took 
signal  vengeance.  On  the  announcement  of  Paul's  death, 
which  took  place  on  August  18,  1559,  the  populace,  who 
had  tolerated  long  enough  the  cruel  rule  of  the  Caraffa  fam- 
ily, broke  into  the  Conservatori  palace  and  overturned  the 
statue  of  the  Pope,  dragging  the  head  through  the  streets. 
The  Jews  took  a  leading  share  in  this  outbreak  of  popular 
feeling,  and  carried  the  head,  in  their  turn,  through  the 
Ghetto,  covering  the  pontifical  tiara  with  the  hateful  orange 
cap. 

As  a  rule,  common  law  penalties  were  applied  with  more 
severity  in  the  case  of  Jews  than  in  the  case  of  Christians, 
especially  when  the  offence  was  against  public  morality. 
Thus,  while  Christian  "  cortigiane  "  1  breaking  the  police 
regulations  were  simply  punished  with  fustigation,  —  much 
to  the  joy  of  the  populace,  who  counted  upon  such  perform- 
ances as  one  of  the  attractions  of  Carnival,  —  the  Jewesses 
were  generally  burned  at  the  stake  in  the  Campo  di  Fiore. 

It  is  true,  at  the  same  time,  that  Christians  who  fell  vic- 
tims to  the  fascination  of  the  brunette  daughters  of  Israel 
ran  the  risk  of  losing  their  lives,  as  is  proved  by  the  follow- 
ing anecdote. 

Sixtus  V.  having  heard  that  the  young  Duke  of  Parma 

1  In  Pope  Leo  X.'s  time  the  number  of  the  cortigiane  was  equal  to  about 
one  third  of  the  total  of  single  women  or  widows  within  the  walls  of  the  city. 
Their  number  had  diminished  to  604  in  1600,  to  rise  up  again  steadily  until  the 
maximum  of  1295  was  reached  in  the  year  1639. 


JEWISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME.  259 

had  lived  for  a  certain  time  on  intimate  terms  with  a  Jewess, 
caused  him  to  be  arrested,  and  on  the  acknowledgment  of 
his  guilt,  to  be  sentenced  to  the  scaffold.  As  the  moment 
of  the  execution  approached,  and  when  the  most  powerful 
intercessions  had  failed  to  obtain  a  mitigation  of  the  sen- 
tence from  the  stern  old  pontiff,  Cardinal  Alessandro  Far- 
nese,  uncle  of  the  young  duke,  thought  of  the  following 
stratagem.  He  caused  all  the  clocks  of  the  Vatican  to  be 
put  back,  with  the  exception  of  the  Pope's  private  one, 
which  alone  was  left  to  mark  the  true  time.  Cardinal 
Alessandro  having  entered  the  audience-room  a  few  mo- 
ments before  the  hour  fixed  for  the  execution,  made  a  su- 
preme appeal  to  the  clemency  of  Sixtus  V.,  but  in  vain.  At 
last  the  Pope,  looking  at  the  quadrant  and  thinking  that 
all  was  over,  granted  the  pardon,  provided  it  was  not  too 
late.  The  cardinal  rushed  to  the  prison,  where  the  execu- 
tioner, deceived  by  the  clock,  was  waiting  for  the  fatal 
hour  to  strike.  When  the  stratagem  was  at  last  discovered 
the  duke  was  already  beyond  the  reach  of  the  Pope's  police. 
Alas !  it  was  reserved  to  the  present  generation  to  see 
the  twenty-two  hundred  years  old  Jewish  colony  dispersed 
forever.  The  Ghetto,  so  quaint  in  its  filth  and  pictur- 
esqueness,  is  no  more.  The  scheme  for  the  sanitation  of 
the  City  required  its  disappearance,  and  it  has  disappeared. 
The  Jews  of  Rome  have  lost  their  identity  and  their  person- 
ality, scattered  as  they  are  among  a  population  of  five  hun- 
dred thousand  souls.  Yet  the  poorer  ones  are  still  faithful 
to  their  old  habits ;  they  still  pace  our  streets  buying  old 
garments  and  hawking  small  articles  of  wear.  The  only 
difference  is  that  they  no  longer  accept  broken  glass  instead 
of  pennies.1 

1  "  Transtiberinus  ambulator,  qui  pallentia  sulphurata  [matches]  fractis  per- 
imitat  vitris."     Martial,  Epigr.  i.  36. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

ENGLISH    MEMORIALS    IN    ROME. 

ENGLISH  memorials  in  Rome,  as  far  as  existing  monu- 
ments are  concerned,  date  back  to  the  first  century  of  the 
Empire.  In  A.  D.  51—52,  after  the  capture  of  King  Carac- 
tacus  and  the  surrender  of  his  brothers,  a  triumphal  arch 
was  raised  to  the  Emperor  Claudius  on  the  Via  Flaminia, 
the  modern  Corso,  "  for  having  subjugated  eleven  kings 
of  Britain  without  loss  on  the  Roman  side,  and  for  hav- 
ing first  of  all  Romans  annexed  to  the  Empire  barbarous 
trans-oceanic  lands." l  The  history  of  this  arch  is  quite 
remarkable.  Discovered  for  the  first  time  in  1562  in  that 
tract  of  the  Corso  which  we  call  Piazza,  di  Sciarra,  it  took 
three  hundred  and  eight  years  to  dig  its  remains  out  of  the 
ground  and  to  fill  our  museums  with  its  fragments.  Four 
bas-reliefs,  one  of  the  dedicatory  inscriptions,  and  one  hun- 
dred and.  thirty-six  cartloads  of  marble  were  brought  to 
the  surface  in  1562.  Duke  Giorgio  Cesarini  bought  two 
bas-reliefs  and  part  of  a  third,  which,  after  passing  through 
several  hands,  are  now  preserved  in  the  Casino  of  the  Villa 
Borghese.  The  fourth  panel  was  first  walled  up  in  front 
of  the  house  of  Marsilius  Cafano  in  the  same  Piazza  di 
Sciarra  where  it  had  been  found,  and  was  removed  in  1593 
to  the  Conservatori  palace,  where  we  can  see  it  in  the  land- 
ing of  the  great  stairs.2  Now  three  other  panels  from  a  tri- 
umphal arch  of  Marcus  Aurelius  by  S.  Martina  were  already 
exhibited  in  the  same  landing.  The  city  magistrates,  think- 

1  Corpus  Inscr.  vol.  vi.  n.  920. 

2  Helbig,  Guide,  vol.  i.  p.  407,  n.  547. 


THE    VEXUS    GEXKTRIX    BY    ARCESILAUS 


ENGLISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 


263 


ing  it  a  great  pity  that  the  fourth  and  last  should  belong  to 
a  different  Caesar,  made  away  with  the  head  of  Claudius, 
and  substituted  in  its  place  that  of  the  philosopher  Em- 
peror. The  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  cartloads  of  Greek 
and  Luna  marble  were  purchased  by  the  sculptor  Flaminio 


ff  I   ."_  _-;  / 

AYOVSTO 

bOKTIF: 


rS 


The  conquest  of  Britain  in  the  inscription  of  Claudius. 

Vacca,  who  sold  them  in  turn  to  Pope  Clement  VIII., 
Aldobrandini.  The  marbles  were  sawn  into  slabs  and 
made  use  of  in  the  pavement  and  in  the  veneering  of  the 
transept  of  St.  John  Lateran. 

Other  portions  of  the  arch  were  discovered  in  1587,  1641, 
and  1870.  The  only  fragment  now  visible,  besides  the 
four  panels  mentioned  above,  is  the  left  half  of  the  dedica- 


264  ENGLISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

tory  inscription  set  into  the  garden  wall  of  the  Barberini 
palace,  Via  delle  Quattro  Fontane.  The  other  half  supple- 
mented in  plaster  is  altogether  wrong.  (See  page  263.) 

If  we  except  a  breastplate  of  British  pearls  which  deco- 
rated the  statue  of  Venus  Genetrix  by  Arcesilaus  in  the  fo- 
rum of  Julius  Csesar,  and  certain  masses  of  pig  lead  shipped 
from  British  mines  to  the  imperial  "  Horrea  plumbaria  "  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Tiber,1  there  are  no  other  memorials 
dating  from  classic  times.  Those  of  a  later  age  begin  \vith 
the  following  record  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle,  A.  D. 
688  :  "  This  year  King  Csed walla  went  to  Rome  and  received 
baptism  from  Pope  Sergius,  and  in  about  seven  days  after- 
wards, on  the  twelfth  day  before  the  kalends  of  May  [April 
20,  689],  while  he  was  yet  in  his  baptismal  garments,  he 
died  and  was  buried  in  St.  Peter's." 

We  do  not  know  the  details  of  the  hearty  reception  ten- 
dered by  the  semi-barbaric  Romans  of  the  seventh  century 
to  the  fair-haired  and  blue-eyed  young  convert ;  but  Adhelm, 
bishop  of  Sherborne,  in  a  poem  written  in  praise  of  the 
royal  maiden  Bugge,  asserts  that  the  king  of  Essex  was  re- 
ceived, as  it  were,  in  triumph  amidst  loud  demonstrations  of 
joy  from  the  clergy  and  from  the  populace.  He  was  buried 
in  the  atrium  or  "  paradise  "  of  St.  Peter's,  and  his  grave 
was  inscribed  with  two  records,  a  poem  of  twelve  distichs 
and  a  short  biographical  note.  Their  text  is  to  be  found 
in  Bede's  "  History,"  v.  7,  and  also  in  the  "  Sylloge  Turo- 
nensis,"  n.  40,  edited  by  de  Rossi,  "  Inscr.  Christ."  vol.  ii. 
p.  70.  The  epitaph  says,  "  Here  lies  Chedual,  the  same  as 
Peter,  King  of  the  Saxons,  about  thirty  years  of  age.  He 
was  laid  to  rest  on  April  20th  in  the  Second  Indiction,  in 
the  fourth  consulship  of  our  Lord  Justinian  the  most  pious 
Emperor,  and  in  the  second  year  of  the  pontificate  of  our 

1  Carpus  Inscr.  vol.  xv.2  p.  987  ;  Nibby,  Roma  antica,  vol.  ii.  p.  149. 


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OLDEST   EXISTING  VIEW   OF   THE   FACADE   OF   ST.   PETER'S 
(From  a  sketch  of  the  eleventh  century  in  Cod.  124  of  the  Eton  Library) 


ENGLISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME.  267 

Apostolic  father  Sergius  the  first."  According  to  Gio- 
vanni de  Deis,  who  in  1589  published  a  pamphlet  on  the 
"  Successors  of  Barnabas  the  Apostle,"  both  inscriptions 
had  been  composed  by  Benedict,  archbishop  of  Milan. 
The  same  writer  declares  that  the  sarcophagus  which  con- 
tained the  remains  of  the  king  was  discovered  together  with 
the  epitaph  in  the  foundations  of  the  new  basilica  of  St. 
Peter  in  the  time  of  Sixtus  V.  It  must  have  been  broken 
to  pieces,  and  thrown,  like  the  commonest  building  material, 
into  the  building  trenches. 

According  to  William  of  Malmesbury  and  other  chroni- 
clers two  other  Saxon  kings  were  buried  in  the  "  paradise," 
Offa  of  Essex  and  Coenred  of  Mercia,  both  of  whom  had 
embraced  the  monastic  life  in  one  of  the  cloisters  near  the 
Vatican.  It  is  uncertain  whether  King  Ina  and  his  queen, 
^Ethelburga,  were  buried  in  the  same  place,  or  in  the  na- 
tional church  of  S.  Maria  de  Burgo  Saxonum,  which  had 
been  founded  or  enlarged  by  Ina  himself.1 

This  Schola  Saxonum  is  the  oldest  and  foremost  of  the 
foreign  colonies  which  clustered  round  St.  Peter's,  in  the 
low  and  unhealthy  ground  formerly  occupied  by  the  gar- 
dens of  Agrippina  the  elder.  It  dates  from  A.  D.  727,  while 
the  Schola  of  the  Langobards  was  only  founded  about 
770  by  Queen  Ansa,  and  those  of  the  Franks  and  Frisians 
by  Charlemagne  towards  the  end  of  the  same  century.  It 
consisted  of  a  hospice  for  pilgrims  and  of  a  chapel  dedi- 
cated to  the  Virgin  Mary.  The  chapel  is  still  in  existence, 
near  the  gate  of  the  Leonine  city  called  Posterula  Saxonum 
(Porta  di  S.  Spirito),  although  much  altered  and  modernized 
under  the  name  of  Santo  Spirito  in  Sassia.  The  colony 
flourished  for  many  years,  extending  as  far  as  the  Ponte  S. 

1  Compare  Tesoroni's  article  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  British  and  Ameri- 
can Arch.  Society  of  Rome,  March  24,  1891,  p.  13. 


268  ENGLISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

Angelo  on  the  site  of  the  present  Arciospedale  di  S.  Spirito  ; 
and  the  name  Burg  or  Burgh,  by  which  its  dwellers  desig- 
nated it,  is  still  in  use,  Italianized  as  Borgo.1 

The  reconstruction  of  this  interesting  quarter  after  the 
fire  and  pillage  of  the  Saracens  in  846  is  connected  with 
the  establishment  of  Peter's  pence,  about  which  so  much 
information  has  been  given  by  Garampi,  Cancellieri,  and  de 
Rossi.2  To  keep  the  accommodations  for  pilgrims  in  good 
order,  to  supply  them  with  food  and  clothing,  to  nurse 
them  in  their  ailments,  and  to  offer  the  Pope  a  tribute  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  places  of  pilgrimage,  a  national  con- 
tribution was  established  towards  the  beginning  of  the  ninth 
century,  under  the  names  of  Romescot,  Romfeah,  Rompen- 
ing,  etc.,  to  be  shared  by  every  paterfamilias  owning  a 
certain  amount  of  property.  In  998  the  annual  subsidy 
amounted  to  three  hundred  marks  sterling.  A  mark  con- 
tained one  hundred  and  sixty  denarii ;  that  is  to  say,  it 
represented  the  tribute  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  families. 
Therefore  the  three  hundred  marks  put  down  as  the  Eng- 
lish tribute  in  the  "  Liber  Censuum  "  represented  forty-eight 
thousand  families,  a  considerable  number  indeed,  if  we 
recollect  what  was  the  state  of  the  British  Isles  in  those 
days. 

Three  "  ripostigli "  or  hidden  deposits  of  Peter's  pence 
have  been  found  in  Rome  :  one  in  the  House  of  the  Vestals, 
one  in  the  belfry  of  St.  Paul's,  one  at  the  Aqua?  Salviae  or 
Tre  Fontane. 

The  first,  discovered  November  8,  1882,  in  that  part  of 
the  Atrium  Vesta3  which  had  been  occupied  between  942 

1  Compare  Antonio  de  Waal,  /  luoghi  pii  sul  territorio  vaticano,  Roma,  1886, 
p.  14. 

2  Garampi,  in  Cod.  vatic,  latin.  9022,  and  Memorie  della  beata  Chiara  di  Ri- 
mino,  p.  232  ;  Cancellieri,  in  Giornale  arcadico,  1821,  vol.  x.  p.  264  ;  De  Rossi, 
in  Notizie  degli  Scavi,  decembre,  1883. 


. 


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THE   BORGO,   TIME 


ALEXANDER   VI 


ENGLISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME.  269 

and  946  by  an  officer  of  the  court  of  Pope  Marintis  II., 
contained  a  gold-piece  of  Theophilus  (A.  D.  829-842)  and 
eight  hundred  and  thirty -four  silver  pennies,  representing 
the  tribute  of  so  many  families.  The  pennies  all  come  from 
British  royal  or  archiepiscopal  mints,  except  four  which 
bear  the  stamp  of  the  mints  of  Pavia,  Limoges,  and  Ratis- 
bon.  The  presence  of  the  four  outsiders  among  the  mass 
of  British  pennies  is  not  to  be  wondered  at.  In  "  Vol. 
Miscell.  Ashmole,"  1820,  of  the  Bodleian,  p.  7,  there  is 
an  account  of  the  discovery  in  Lancashire,  in  1611,  of  a 
repository  with  pieces  of  Alfred,  Edward,  Edmund,  kings, 
and  Plegmund,  archbishop,  mixed  with  foreign  pennies, 
some  French,  some  marked  with  the  name  of  King  Beren- 
garius.  Most  of  the  English  pieces  bore  the  motto  sci 
PETRI  Mo(neta)  EBOBACE  civ,  which  has  nothing  to  do 
with  Peter's  pence,  but  only  shows  that  the  piece  was  struck 
in  the  archiepiscopal  mint  of  York,  the  cathedral  of  which 
was  dedicated  to  St.  Peter. 

The  second  ripostiglio  was  found  in  1843,  walled  in  in 
the  old  belfry  of  St.  Paul's-outside-the-\Valls,  the  third  in 
1871  at  the  Tre  Fontane.  Both  date  from  the  time  when 
the  institution  of  the  "  denarius  sancti  Petri "  had  become 
general  among  the  nations  of  western  Europe. 

I  conclude  by  remarking  that  the  discovery  of  English 
coins  in  Rome  is  an  extremely  rare  occurrence.  There  are 
only  a  few  in  the  Vatican  collection,  the  origin  of  which, 
besides,  is  not  known.  Considering  this  state  of  things, 
de  Rossi  has  come  to  the  conclusion  that  English  silver 
must  have  been  recoined  in  the  Pontifical  mint. 

The  institution  of  an  English  college  in  Rome  is  con- 
nected by  modern  guidebooks  with  the  old  Schola  and  hos- 
pice of  the  Saxons,  but  without  warrant,  for  the  hospice, 


270  ENGLISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

after  having  thrice  been  burned  and  plundered,  was  aban- 
doned in  1204,  and  its  revenues  were  transferred  by  Inno- 
cent III.  to  the  newly  founded  hospital  of  S.  Spirito.  The 
institution  may  with  more  reason  be  connected  with  that 
of  the  Jubilee  which  caused  a  revival  of  Anglo-Roman 
intercourse  in  1300.  English  pilgrims  felt  the  loss  of  their 
national  hospice  ;  and  it  was  at  this  juncture  that  a  London 
merchant,  named  John  Shepherd,  purchased  certain  houses 
on  the  Via  now  called  di  Monserrato,  and  having  converted 
them  into  an  establishment  for  the  reception  of  pilgrims 
and  travellers  under  the  invocation  of  the  Holy  Trinity 
and  St.  Thomas,  became  with  his  wife  the  first  superintend- 
ent of  the  new  institution.1  According  to  the  original 
deed  in  the  archives  of  the  present  English  college,  the 
foundation  must  have  been  made  about  the  year  1362. 
Hospice  and  church  occupied  part  of  the  site  of  the  "  Sta- 
bula  Factionis  Venetse,"  the  barracks  and  stables  of  the 
squadron  of  the  charioteers  of  the  Circus  who  wore  the  blue 
colors.  The  other  three  squadrons  were  distinguished,  as 
is  well  known,  by  their  white  (Factio  albata),  green  (Fac- 
tio  prasina)  and  red  (Factio  russata)  costumes.  Each  had 
independent  barracks,  built  with  great  magnificence,  and 
ornamented  with  precious  works  of  art,  adjoining  which 
there  was  a  field  called  Trigarium  or  Campus  Trigarius,  for 
the  breaking  in  and  training  of  horses,  for  which  purpose 
the  charioteers  availed  themselves  of  the  "  triga,"  the  un- 
tamed animal  being  harnessed  between  two  trained  ones. 
The  barracks  of  the  Greens,  the  favorite  color  with  the 
Roman  populace,  are  placed  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
church  of  S.  Lorenzo  in  Damaso,  on  account  of  the  denom- 
ination "  in  Prasino  "  (among  the  Greens)  which  the  church 

1  Compare  Henry  Foley's  vol.  vi.  of  the  Records  of  the  English  province  of  the 
Society  of  Jesus,  London,  Burns  &  Gates,  1880,  p.  xxviii. 


ENGLISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME.  271 

bore  in  ages  gone  by.  The  surmise  has  been  shown  to  be 
correct  through  the  discovery  of  a  pedestal  dedicated  to  an 
''  agitator  Factionis  Prasinae  "  under  the  adjoining  palace 
of  la  Cancelleria,  and  also  of  a  water-pipe  inscribed  with  the 
words  "  Factionis  Prasina?."  J  These  beautiful  barracks,  or 
whatever  parts  of  them  were  left  standing,  were  occupied 
between  366  and  384  by  Pope  Damasus,  who  transformed 
them  into  an  "  archivum,"  or  "  chartarium  Ecclesiae  Ro- 
manae "  for  the  preservation  and  safe-keeping  of  books 
and  documents  belonging  to  the  Holy  See.  Barracks 
and  library  have  disappeared  long  since.  The  building, 
repaired  and  probably  disfigured  from  time  to  time,  was 
levelled  to  the  ground  four  hundred  and  fifteen  years  ago 
(1486)  by  Cardinal  Raphael  Riario,  nephew  of  Sixtus  IV. 
Its  columns  of  red  Egyptian  granite  were  made  use  of  by 
Bramante  in  his  wonderful  court  of  the  Palazzo  della  Can- 
celleria. (See  p.  273.)  The  "  Stabula  Factionis  Prasinae  " 
were  bounded  on  the  west  side  by  a  street  now  called  Via 
dei  Cappellari.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  same  street, 
and  between  it  and  the  Via  di  Monserrato  (also  ancient), 
rose  the  barracks  of  the  Blues,  on  a  corner  of  which  the 
English  hospice  was  established  by  John  Shepherd.  Many 
interesting  finds  are  recorded  in  connection  with  the  place. 
Pietro  Sante  Bartoli,  pontifical  superintendent  of  antiqui- 
ties at  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century,  says  that  a 
i;  bellissima  statua  di  un  Fauno  "  was  discovered  in  the 
foundations  of  the  new  college  in  the  spring  of  1682,  as 
well  as  the  architrave  of  a  shrine  dedicated  to  the  god  Sil- 
vanus,  A.  D.  90,  by  a  charioteer  named  Thallus.  The 
Blues  are  also  recorded  in  inscription  n.  9719  of  vol.  vi. 
Corpus  Inscr.  Latin.  ("  Crescens  .  .  .  natione  Bessus,  olearius 
de  porticu  Pallantiana  Venetianorum  "),  and  in  n.  10,044, 

1  Corpus  Inscr.  vol.  vi.  n.  10,058, 10,063  ;  Bull.  Arch.  Cam.  1887,  p.  10. 


272  ENGLISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

a  pedestal  erected  in  memory  of  one  of  their  great  victories 
("  Victoria  Venetianorum  semper  constet  feliciter  ").  I  may 
add  that  when  the  present  church  of  St.  Thomas  a  Becket 
was  commenced  in  1870  from  the  designs  of  Vespignani 
the  elder,  remains  of  ecclesiastical  edifices  of  the  eleventh 
or  twelfth  century  and  of  an  ancient  Roman  road  were 
discovered  in  the  excavation  for  the  foundations. 

The  pilgrim-book  of  the  new  college,  commencing  De- 
cember 29,  1580,  and  ending  in  1656,  has  been  published 
by  Foley.  The  hospitable  gates  of  the  college  seem  to  have 
been  equally  open  to  Protestants  and  Catholics,  provided 
the  visitors  came  from  the  mother  country,  and  brought 
letters  of  recommendation.  The  first  entry  in  the  book 
runs  as  follows  :  — 

"1580,  December  29.  The  illustrious  Dom.  Thomas 
Arundel,  an  Englishman  of  the  diocese  of  ...  was  this 
day  admitted  as  the  first  guest,  and  remained  with  us  for 
three  days."  This  is  the  celebrated  Sir  Thomas  surnamed 
the  "  Valiant "  on  account  of  his  daring  exploits  at  the  bat- 
tle of  Gran,  when  he  took  with  his  own  hands  the  standard 
of  Mahomet.  For  this  action  of  bravery  he  was  created  a 
Count  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire  in  1595  and  first  Baron 
Arundel  of  Wardour  in  1605.  We  also  meet  with  the 
names  of  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  the  Earls  of  Carnar- 
von, Devon,  Bolingbroke,  the  Lords  Berkeley,  Kensington, 
Howard,  Stafford,  Hamilton,  etc.  Of  Henry,  son  of  the 
first  marquis  of  Worcester,  it  is  said  :  — 

"  1649,  December  20.  This  most  noble  pilgrim  came 
to  us  and  remained  until  February  the  14th,  affording  a 
remarkable  example  to  all  the  college  from  his  habit  of 
constant  prayer,  spiritual  conversation,  and  humility.  On 
leaving  us  he  thought  of  proceeding  to  Jerusalem." 

Perhaps  the  most  famous  of  all  the  visitors  of  the  col- 
lege were  John  Milton  and  Richard  Crashaw. 


ENGLISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 


1273 


The  Palazzo  della  Cancelleria,  built  with  the  columns  and  marbles  of  the  Barracks 
of  the  "  Greens  "  (Factio  Prasina). 

John  Milton  had  been  travelling  in  Italy  since  the  death 
of  his  mother  in  1637.  He  became  a  guest  of  the  college 
on  October  30,  1638,  when  he  took  his  first  dinner  in  the 
refectory,  together  with  the  students,  Mr.  Carey,  brother  of 
Lord  Falkland,  Dr.  Holling  of  Lancashire,  and  a  Mr. 
Fortescue. 

Richard  Crashaw,  son  of  William, "  preacher  in  the  Tem- 
ple," born  in  1612,  Fellow  of  Peterhouse  and  Pembroke 
Hall,  Cambridge,  was  expelled  from  that  celebrated  Univer- 
sity with  four  other  Fellows  on  June  11, 1644,  because  they 
had  refused  to  sign  "  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant." 
He  became  a  Catholic  while  an  exile  in  France,  and  Queen 
Henrietta  Maria,  then  a  fugitive  in  Paris,  to  whom  he  had 
been  presented  by  his  friend  and  fellow  poet  Cowley,  gave 
him  letters  of  introduction  to  Italy.  The  pilgrim-book  of 
the  English  college  contains  the  following  entry  :  "  Rich- 


274  ENGLISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

ard  Crashaw,  a  pilgrim,  arrived  November  28,  1646,  and 
remained  fifteen  days."  Other  entries  show  that  the  poet 
frequented  the  hospice  for  the  space  of  four  years.  After 
entering  the  household  of  Cardinal  Paleotto,  he  obtained  a 
canonry  at  Loreto,  in  which  city  he  died  of  fever  after  a 
few  weeks'  residence.  He  was  buried  in  that  celebrated 
sanctuary  in  1650.1 

The  reason  which  prompted  English  travellers,  Protestant 
as  well  as  Catholic,  to  seek  the  hospitality  of  the  college, 
must  be  found,  first,  in  their  spirit  of  nationality,  superior 
to  religious  controversies  and  questions  of  creed,  and, 
secondly,  in  the  wretched  condition  of  Roman  hostelries, 
uncomfortable,  unclean,  and  dear. 

The  oldest  and  best  known  inns,  known  in  fact  since  the 
institution  of  Jubilees,  were  the  Albergo  dell'  Orso,  the  Al- 
bergo  del  Sole,  and  the  Albergo  della  Luna. 

The  Albergo  dell'  Orso  is  still  extant,  and  still  answering 
its  purpose,  although  the  clientele  is  decidedly  changed. 
It  stands  at  the  corner  of  the  Via  di  Monte  Brianzo  and 
the  Via  del'  Orso,  and  although  whitewashed  and  slightly 
altered,  its  shell  and  internal  arrangements  are  practically 
the  same.  Its  guest-book  begins  with  the  name  of  Dante,  — 
at  least  so  the  tradition  says,2  —  and  ends,  as  far  as  famous 
men  are  concerned,  with  that  of  Montaigne,  who  occupied  a 
room  on  the  street  side,  for  a  few  days,  in  1580. 

Another  of  these  venerable  establishments,  still  flourish- 
ing in  its  own  way,  is  the  Albergo  del  Sole,  near  the  Piazza 
del  Paradise.  Its  first  mention  dates  from  1469  ;  and  it 
has  undergone  no  special  change  in  the  course  of  four  hun- 
dred and  thirty-two  years. 

1  Foley,  I.    c.   p.   xxxiii.;    Grosart,  Complete    Works   of  Richard   Crashaw; 
Fuller's  Worthies'  Library,  1872. 

2  Monti,  Opere,  vol.  i.  p.  260. 


ENGLISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 


275 


The  "  Grand  Hotel "  of  the  seventeenth  century  was 
undoubtedly  the  Hosteria  di  Monte  Brianzo,  in  the  street 
of  the  same  name,  near  the  church  of  S.  Lucia  della  Tinta. 
In  1628-1629  it  gave  shelter  to  three  princes  of  Hesse 
who  were  travelling  incognito.  Burckhard  calls  it  "  une 
hostellerie  fameuse  au  bord  du  Tibre,"  and  we  know  from 
Mancini's  "  Viaggio  "  that  its  facade  had  been  designed 


A  typical  Roman  hostelry. 

and  perhaps  painted  by  no  less  a  master  than  Baldassare 
Peruzzi.     The  inn  came  to  grief  about  1669. 

The  number  of  hostelries  in  Rome  at  the  beginning  of 
the  seventeenth  century  (1615)  was  360;  in  Jubilee  years 
the  number  was  quadrupled.  Giovanni  Ruccellai  counted 
1022  in  1450.  Their  capacity  varied.  The  Hosteria  della 
Campana  accommodated  in  1469  thirty-five  guests  and 
thirty-eight  horses,  and  in  1489  the  Duke  Otto  of  Braun- 
schweig, his  suite,  and  twenty-nine  horses.  The  managers 


276  ENGLISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

were  mostly  Germans  or  North  Italians,  demanding,  as  a 
rule,  exorbitant  prices. 

Ventura,  who  visited  Rome  in  the  Jubilee  of  1300,  spent 
forty-four  cents  a  day  for  his  room  alone.  Matteo  Villani 
says  that  in  the  Jubilee  of  1350  the  stabling  of  a  horse  cost 
ninety  cents  a  day,  a  loaf  of  bread  twelve  cents,  a  "  pintello  " 
of  wine  five. 

The  accommodations  were  not  luxurious.  The  windows 
had  the  "  impannata,"  that  is,  a  piece  of  white  linen  or 
canvas  instead  of  glass.  The  beds  were  covered  by  white 
canopies  or  "  padiglioni."  Fireplaces  for  cooking  and  heat- 
ing at  the  same  time  were  first  introduced  in  1357  by  Fran- 
cesco da  Carrara,  Lord  of  Padua.  The  innovation  is  thus 
described  in  the  "  Chronicle  "  of  Galeazzo  Gataro.1  "  When 
Francesco  alighted  in  Rome  at  the  '  Moon '  he  was  surprised 
to  find  that  there  were  no  chimneys  nor  fireplaces,  the 
Romans  being  in  the  habit  of  cooking  their  meals  or  of 
warming  themselves  near  a  box  full  of  ashes,  that  is,  a 
hearthstone  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  room.2  Francesco, 
having  brought  with  him  from  Padua  master  masons  and 
artisans  of  various  crafts,  caused  two  chimneys  and  two  flues 
to  be  made  in  the  Albergo  della  Luna,  which  he  decorated 
with  his  own  coat  of  arms.  Chimneys  have  since  become 
popular  in  Rome." 

The  rooms  were  marked  not  by  numbers,  but  by  names. 
That  in  the  Albergo  dell'  Orso,  rented  to  Giovanni  Vi- 
centino  in  1570,  was  called  the  White  Cross  (la  Croce  Bi- 
anca.)  Gabriel  Coyer  found  in  the  hotel  at  Turin  in  1763 
the  rooms  of  the  Madonna,  St.  Paul,  and  St.  Peter ;  and 
Kotzebue  mentions  four  miserable  little  apartments  in  the 

1  In  Muratori,  Rerwn  Italic.  Scriptores,  vol.  xvii.  col.  46. 

2  The  practice  is  still  followed  in  the  huts  and  farms  of  the  Roman  Cam- 
pagna. 


ENGLISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME.  277 

hostelry  at  Novi,  which  were  named  Venice,  Rome,  Paris, 
and  Naples ;  and  in  another  place  four  rooms  named  from 
the  four  parts  of  the  world  and  a  fifth  called  Russia. 

Another  curious  custom  was  the  hanging  of  a  coat  of 
arms  in  rooms  occupied  by  a  distinguished  personage. 
Montaigne  had  his  own  painted  in  gold  and  colors  at  Pisa, 
at  a  cost  of  one  and  a  half  scudi.  The  Marquis  Vincenzo 
Giustiniani  gave  two  guldens  to  the  artist  of  Aix-la-Cha- 
pelle,  who  painted  his  armorial  bearings  over  the  door  of 
his  room. 

Lodgings,  in  the  English  sense  of  the  word,  were  also  to 
be  had  in  Rome.  When  Montaigne  left  the  Albergo  dell' 
Orso  in  1580,  he  took  up  his  quarters  in  lodgings,  Via  di 
Monte  Brianzo,  n.  25,  paying  twenty  scudi  a  month  for 
three  good  rooms  —  salon,  dining-room,  kitchen  —  and  sta- 
bles, fuel,  and  cook.  He  was  charged  only  for  provisions. 
The  same  rooms  were  rented  in  1638  to  a  son  of  the  King 
of  Denmark  travelling  incognito.  The  diary  of  Misson, 
who  journeyed  through  Italy  in  1717,  contains  the  following 
passage :  "  En  arrivant  a  Rome  nous  nous  misme  dans 
une  Auberge.  Mais  a,  notre  retour  de  Naples,  nous  prisme 
ce  qu'ils  appellent  un  palazzo,  et  ce  qu'il  faut  nommer  en 
bon  Frangois  une  maison  garnie.  Nous  estions  fort  honor- 
ablement  pour  vingt  piastres  par  mois."  About  the  same 
period  the  daily  wages  for  a  valet  or  laquais  were  thirty 
cents,  while  a  good  carriage  and  pair  could  be  hired  for 
thirty  dollars  a  month.1 

John  Evelyn  of  Wotton  says  in  his  diary  —  edited  by 
William  Bray  in  1818  —  that  having  reached  the  gates  of 
the  Eternal  City  on  November  4,  1644,  wet  to  the  skin,  and 
"  being  perplexed  for  a  convenient  lodging,  he  wandered  up 
and  down  on  horseback,  till  at  last  he  was  conducted  with  his 

1  Misson,  Voyage  en  Italic,  vol.  iii.  p.  229  (La  Haye,  1717). 


278  ENGLISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

companions  to  the  house  of  one  Monsieur  Petit,  a  French- 
man, near  the  Piazza  di  Spagna,"  probably  the  "  Inn  of  the 
Three  Keys,"  which  stood  near  the  entrance  to  the  Via  del 
Babuino.  This  diary  of  Evelyn,  on  the  subject  of  which 
there  is  an  excellent  article  by  Tesoroni  in  the  "  Journal  of 
the  British  and  American  Arch.  Society  of  Rome  "  (vol.  iii. 
n.  1,  p.  33),  is  full  of  useful  and  pleasant  information  about 
the  social  and  material  state  of  Rome  under  Pope  Pamfili, 
Innocent  X.  He  went  once  to  listen  to  the  sermon  which 
used  to  be  delivered  every  week  exclusively  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Jews  in  the  Oratorio  della  Trinita  near  the  Ponte 
Sisto.  These  compulsory  sermons  had  been  established  at 
the  suggestion  of  a  certain  Andrea  del  Monte,  a  converted 
rabbi  of  the  time  of  Julius  II.  The  Jews  were  forced  by 
the  police  to  listen  to  the  preacher,  while  a  beadle  with  a 
wand  woke  up  the  sleepy  and  chastised  the  noisy.  Evelyn 
adds,  with  a  touch  of  humor,  "  A  conversion  is  very  rare  ;  " 
yet  during  his  stay  in  Rome  two  conversions  took  place, 
one  of  a  Jew,  the  other  of  a  Turk,  Evelyn  acting  as  god- 
father to  both.  The  Turk  was  a  sincere  convert,  the  Jew 
an  impostor. 

In  Evelyn's  Memoirs  we  find  also  a  pleasing  account  of 
English  society  in  Rome,  for  which  there  were  two  centres  : 
one  at  the  English  college  near  the  Palazzo  Farnese,  then 
placed  under  the  direction  of  the  Jesuit  fathers ;  the  other 
at  the  Palazzo  Barberini,  the  courteous  owner  of  which,  Car- 
dinal Francesco,  styled  himself  the  Protector  of  England. 
There  were  at  that  time  many  and  distinguished  travellers 
from  beyond  the  Channel,  Lord  John  Somerset,  brother  of 
the  Marquis  of  Worcester,  who  had  an  apartment  in  the 
Palazzo  della  Cancelleria ;  Patrick  Carey,  a  witty  person,  bro- 
ther of  Lord  Falkland ;  two  physicians,  Dr.  Bacon  and  Dr. 
Gibbs,  attached  to  the  suite  of  Cardinal  Capponi.  Gibbs,  a 


MEMORIALS  IN  ROM  A. 


279 


The  English  palace  in  Rome  (now  Giraud-Torlonia). 

Scotchman  by  birth,  educated  at  Oxford,  practised  at  the 
hospital  of  Santo  Spirito,  and  acted  occasionally  as  a  guide 
to  Evelyn.  "  He  was  an  elegant  writer  of  Latin  poetry  :  a 
small  selection  of  his  poems  was  published  at  Rome,  where 
he  died  in  1677  and  was  buried  in  the  Pantheon."  Among 
the  curiosities  he  saw  in  the  City,  Evelyn  notes  one  Mrs. 
Ward,  a  devotee,  soliciting  money  for  the  establishment  of 
an  order  of  female  Jesuits ! 

I  will  now  give  an  account  of  the  residences  of  English 
ambassadors  in  Rome,  two  of  which  have  become  famous 
in  history,  one  before,  one  after  the  Reformation. 

Visitors  to  Rome  are  certainly  familiar  with  the  Palazzo 
Giraud-Torlonia  in  the  Piazza  di  Scossa  Cavalli,  built  by 
Bramante  for  Cardinal  Adriano  Castelli  da  Corneto  at  the 
end  of  the  fifteenth  century.  The  palace  is  equally  inter- 
esting to  the  archaeologist,  to  the  artist,  and  to  the  histo- 


280  ENGLISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

rian :  to  the  first  because  it  is  built  with  the  stones  and  mar- 
bles of  the  Basilica  Julia  and  of  the  temple  of  Janus ;  to 
the  second  because  of  the  beauty  and  purity  of  its  design  ; 
to  the  last  because  it  was  inhabited  by  the  representatives 
of  England  at  the  court  of  Rome  before  the  Reformation. 

We  know  very  little  about  the  early  career  of  Cardinal 
Adriano,  and  his  end  is  also  shrouded  in  mystery.1  It 
seems  that  a  great  knowledge  of  Hebrew,  Latin,  and  Greek, 
as  well  as  shrewdness  in  political  and  ecclesiastical  affairs, 
won  for  hun  the  good  graces  of  Pope  Innocent  VIII.,  by 
whom  the  young  prelate  was  sent  to  England  with  the  mis- 
sion of  bringing  about  peace  between  the  kings  of  England 
and  Scotland.  Henry  VII.,  in  his  turn,  made  him  repre- 
sentative of  English  interests  with  Innocent  VIII.  and 
Alexander  VI.,  and  gave  him  the  see  of  Hereford,  which  he 
exchanged  later  on  for  that  of  Bath  and  Wells.  Promoted 
cardinal  on  May  30,  1503,  under  the  title  of  S.  Crisogono, 
he  brought  to  completion  the  building  of  a  magnificent 
mansion  in  the  Borgo  di  San  Pietro.  The  street  on  which 
the  palace  stands  had  just  been  opened  by  Alexander  VI. 
through  the  slums  of  the  Borgo,  to  give  a  suitable  access 
to  St.  Peter's  from  the  bridge  of  S.  Angelo  ;  and  it  was 
accordingly  named  the  Via  Alexandrina.  Nothing  could 
have  pleased  the  Pope  more  than  the  readiness  of  Cardinal 
Adriano  to  raise  a  costly  building  on  the  street  which  bore 
his  name.  On  this  score,  probably,  the  cardinal  was  given 
full  permission  to  secure  building  materials  from  wherever 
he  chose,  and  to  lay  hands  on  whichever  ruins  best  suited 
his  purpose. 

The  palace  was  built  with  money  provided  by  the  liber- 

1  Born  at  Corneto  about  1458,  he  became  the  most  important  personage  of 
the  court  of  Rome  under  Alexander  VI.  Disgraced  by  Leo  X.  on  account  of 
his  share  in  the  conspiracy  of  Cardinal  Petrucci,  he  fled  from  Rome.  The  place 
and  time  of  his  death  are  unknown. 


ENGLISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 


281 


ality  of  King  Henry  VII.,  with  the  help  of  funds  which  Car- 
dinal Adriano  had  been  able  to  lay  by  in  his  capacity  of 
collector  of  apostolic  revenues  and  Peter's  pence  in  England. 
Behind  the  palace,  in  the  direction  of  the  Leonine  walls. 


Alexander  VI.  (from  a  fresco  in  the  Sale  Borgia). 

extended  a  garden,1  in  which  one  of  the  most  thrilling 
events  in  the  history  of  that  eventful  period  took  place. 
On  Saturday  evening,  August  12,  Pope  Alexander  Borgia 

1  More  exactly  in  the  direction  of  the  "  Via  Sixtina  prope  muros."  On  the 
west  side  it  extended  as  far  as  the  garden  of  Francesco  Soderini,  Cardinal  of 
Volterra  ;  on  the  east  side  it  touched  the  garden  of  Ardicino  della  Porta,  Car- 
dinal of  Aleria. 


282  ENGLISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

and  his  son  Caesar,  Duke  of  Valentinois,  with  Cardinal 
Adriano,  had  partaken  of  some  refreshments  in  this  garden, 
the  company  being  restricted  to  the  three  personages  al- 
ready mentioned,  besides  Cardinal  Romolino  (who  had  pre- 
sided over  the  execution  of  Fra  Girolamo  Savonarola)  and 
another  whose  name  is  not  mentioned.  Both  the  Pope  and 
his  son  were  taken  that  same  evening  with  fits  of  vomiting, 
followed  by  a  violent  fever.  Next  day  the  Pope  was  bled, 
and  felt  so  relieved  that  he  took  pleasure  in  watching  some 
of  his  attendants  playing  at  cards.  The  fever  came  back 
on  the  14th,  and  disappeared  the  next  day,  only  to  strike 
the  patient  again  with  increased  violence  on  the  16th.  The 
gates  of  the  Vatican  palace  were  closed,  Scipio,  the  head 
physician,  and  his  assistant  only  being  allowed  free  pass. 
On  Friday,  August  18,  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening  Alex- 
ander VI.  expired,  while  his  son,  thanks  to  his  youth  and 
robust  constitution,  was  able  to  leave  his  bed  and  seek 
refuge,  with  his  followers  and  his  valuables,  in  the  Castle 
of  S.  Angelo. 

The  rumor  that  the  Pope  had  died  of  poison  spread  like 
wildfire  through  the  City,  and  we  find  it  received  and  com- 
mented upon  in  the  diplomatic  correspondence  of  Bel- 
trando,  ambassador  of  Ferrara,  of  Giustiniani,  ambassador 
of  Venice,  and  also  of  the  diarists  Sanuto  and  Burckhard. 
The  theory  of  poison  was  strengthened  in  the  minds  of  the 
members  of  the  court  by  the  frightful  appearance  of  the 
corpse  :  "  factus  erat  sicut  pannus  nigerrimus  .  .  .  os  aper- 
tum  et  adeo  horribile  quod  nemo  viderit  unquam  vel  esse 
tale  dixerit,"  says  Burckhard,  and  Sanuto  repeats  "  mai  a 
tempo  de  cristiano  fu  veduta  la  piu  or(r)enda  e  terribil 
cosa."  However,  there  is  no  necessity  to  resort  to  poison 
to  explain  the  fatal  consequences  of  the  supper  of  August 
11.  The  Vatican  district  had  not  improved  very  much  in 


ENGLISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME.  283 

salubrity  since  the  days  of  Tacitus,  who  calls  it  "  infamis 
acre  !  "  In  fact,  the  cutting  of  a  deep  moat  around  the  Castle 
of  S.  Angelo,  the  choking  up  of  drains,  the  transformation 
of  the  once  beautiful  gardens  of  Domitia  and  Agrippina 
into  a  marshy  waste  had  made  the  Borgo  the  unhealthiest 
district  of  Rome.1  The  August  of  1503  had  been  particu- 
larly malignant ;  and  half  the  members  of  the  Pope's  house- 
hold were  laid  low  with  fever,  many  cases  having  proved 


The  cenotaph  of  Alexander  VI.  in  the  crypt  of  St.  Peter's. 

fatal.  Soderini,  the  ambassador  of  Florence,  could  not 
keep  the  Republic  informed  of  the  course  of  events  in  con- 
sequence of  an  attack  of  malaria.  And  yet,  if  the  case  was 

1  Cardinal  Noris,  in  a  letter  dated  September  10,  1695,  says  that  seven 
hundred  persons  had  already  been  attacked  by  fever  in  the  Borgo  in  the  course 
of  that  summer. 


284  ENGLISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

as  simple  as  that,  how  can  we  explain  the  fact  that  Cardi- 
nal Adriano's  skin  fell  in  strips,  a  fact  which  he  himself 
attributed  to  poisoning?  Something  terrible  must  have 
happened  on  that  memorable  evening ;  but  I  am  afraid  that 
the  principal  actors  must  have  carried  the  secret  into  their 
graves. 

One  of  the  versions,  which  found  its  way  into  the  diplo- 
matic correspondence  of  the  time,  is  that  Alexander  and 
Valentino  had  plotted  to  poison  their  host,  whose  fortune 
they  were  eager  to  confiscate,  and  that  they  both  drank  by 
mistake  the  contents  of  the  wrong  bottle.  Another  version, 
accepted  in  Venice,  speaks  of  sugar-plums  instead  of  wine 
as  the  means  selected  by  the  Borgias  to  deal  their  blow; 
and  adds  that  Cardinal  Adriano,  suspecting  the  reason 
which  had  prompted  the  Pope  to  ask  for  an  invitation  to 
supper,  had  bribed  the  Pope's  butler  with  a  promise  of  ten 
thousand  ducats  if  the  poisonous  candy  would  be  spared  to 
him. 

Both  versions  seem  to  be  wrong,  and  could  eventually  be 
proved  so.  The  student  and  lover  of  art  has  this  advantage 
over  the  historian  and  the  politician,  that  he  need  not  em- 
bitter his  own  mind  and  excite  the  passions  of  his  readers 
by  discussing  the  rights  and  wrongs  of  the  Borgias,  to 
determine  whether  they  were  the  abominable  monsters,  the 
curse  of  mankind,  of  whom  we  have  been  accustomed  to 
read  in  cheap  books,  or  if  they  must  be  considered  as  no 
better  and  no  worse  than  the  average  Italian  princes  of  the 
beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  with  whose  deeds  and 
politics  we  have  been  made  familiar  by  Macchiavelli.  I  have 
before  me  a  volume  printed  in  1887,  in  which  the  title  of 
"  mostri  iniqui  e  infernali  " 1  is  attributed,  not  to  the  Borgias, 
but  to  those  who  speak  of  them  with  disrespect !  I  have 

1  Infernal  and  iniquitous  monsters. 


ENGLISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME.  285 

also  before  me  an  unpublished  epigram  by  a  contemporary 
of  Alexander  VI.,  a  witness  of  his  deeds  as  a  man,  as  a 
prince,  and  as  a  priest,  in  which  the  seven  capital  sins  are 
distinctly  alluded  to  in  connection  with  his  career.  To  the 
student  and  lover  of  art.  however,  he  appears  under  a  better 
light  as  the  builder  of  the  Sale  Borgia  in  the  Vatican,  the 
most  exquisite,  the  most  fascinating  production  of  Italian 
art  at  the  opening  of  the  Golden  Age. 

The  palace  of  Cardinal  di  Corneto,  in  which  this  tragic 
event  took  place,  became  English  property  in  March,  1505. 
By  a  deed,  which  is  still  to  be  found  in  the  records  of  the 
notary  Beneinbene,  the  cardinal  granted  his  property  to 
Henry  VII.,  to  his  heirs  and  successors,  as  a  residence  for 
English  representatives  to  the  Holy  See.  It  was  inhabited 
by  Silvestro  Gigli  in  1521,  and  by  Christopher  Bainbridge, 
Cardinal  of  S.  Prassede,  in  1544.  It  did  not  remain  long 
in  English  hands,  for  Henry  VII.  presented  it  in  his  turn 
to  his  dear  friend,  Cardinal  Lorenzo  Campeggi.  Afterwards 
it  passed  through  many  hands,1  until  it  was  sold,  March  29, 
1820,  to  Prince  Torlonia  for  the  nominal  sum  of  eight 
thousand  dollars. 

Rome  saw  no  more  ambassadors  from  the  court  of  St. 
James  until  1686,  on  April  13  of  which  year  the  Earl  of 
Castlemain,  the  special  and,  for  some  time,  secret  envoy 
of  King  James  II.  to  Innocent  XI.,  reached  the  banks  of 
the  Tiber.  He  was  met  two  miles  beyond  the  Porta  del 
Popolo  by  Cardinal  Thomas  Howard  and  his  gentleman  in 
waiting,  Paolo  Falconieri,  and,  leaving  his  own  travelling- 

1  Cardinal  Tolomeo  Galli  about  1580  ;  Cardinal  Scipione  Borghese  in  1609  ; 
the  Campeggi  again  in  1635  ;  Cardinal  Girolamo  Colonna  in  1650  ;  Queen 
Christina  of  Sweden  in  1669  ;  Cardinal  Radziekowsky  about  1680  ;  the  hos- 
pice for  poor  priests,  called  dei  Cento  Preti,  in  1699;  Count  Pietro  Giraud  in 
1720  ;  the  Vatican  manufacture  of  mosaics  in  1816  ;  Giovanni  Torlonia  in 
1820. 


286 


ENGLISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 


The  Palazzo  Pamphili  in  the  Piazza  Navona. 

coach,  drove  with  the  cardinal  to  his  residence.  The  am- 
bassador kept  his  official  incognito  for  ten  months  ;  un- 
officially he  was  all  this  time  the  most  talked-of  foreign 
representative  in  Rome.  He  had  taken  up  his  quarters  in 
the  magnificent  Palazzo  Pamphili  in  the  Piazza  Navona, 
over  the  gate  of  which  hung  two  shields,  each  twenty-two 
feet  in  diameter.  Whether  on  account  of  their  extraor- 
dinary size,  or  of  the  even  more  extraordinary  subjects 
painted  upon  them,  these  two  shields  became  the  talk  of 
the  town,  and  a  pamphlet  was  published  to  explain  their 
meaning  to  the  wondering  crowds.1  One,  the  shield  of  the 
Pope,  showed  the  figure  of  Britannia  paying  homage  to  the 
Church,  assisted  and  comforted  by  a  venerable  old  man 

1  Lettera  nella  quale  si  ragguaglia  un  Prelate  .  .  .  delle  2  grand'  armi  alzate 
sulla  facciata  del  palazzo  Pamfili,  etc.     Roma,  Ant.  Ercole,  1686. 


ENGLISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 


287 


alleged  to  represent  "  Christian  Zeal,"  by  a  female  figure 
representing  Prudence,  and  by  the  personification  of  "  Royal 
Valor  "  in  the  character  of  Hercules  trampling  under  his 
feet  the  figure  of  Envy.  There  was  also  an  altar,  with  the 
Book  of  the  Gospels  upon  it,  resting  upon  the  shoulders 
of  two  Turks,  —  one  in  military  attire  with  many  horse- 
tails, one  dressed  as  a  mufti,  with  a  mutilated  copy  of  the 
Koran  in  his  hands.  The  scene  was  made  complete  by  two 
sphinxes,  Father  Tiber  placidly  gliding  under  the 


The  Barberini  Palace. 

Bridge,  and  branches  of   laurel  symbolizing  the  victories 
of  Holy  Church. 

The  other  shield,  belonging  to  Great  Britain,  almost 
baffles  description.  There  were  the  coats  of  arms  of  Eng- 
land, France,  Ireland,  and  Scotland,  the  garter,  the  lion, 
the  unicorn,  the  helmet,  the  crown,  the  ermine  mantelet, 
in  a  shield  supported  by  two  angels.  Then  came  another 


288  ENGLISH  MEMORIALS  IN  HOME. 

Hercules,  brandishing  the  club  with  one  hand  and  a  blue 
label  with  the  other,  with  the  motto,  "  Dieu  et  mon  droit," 
followed  by  a  matron  representing  Britannia,  and  by  the 
figure  of  St.  George,  clad  in  armor,  with  a  red  English 
cross  on  the  cuirass.  The  hydra  which  he  was  piercing 
with  a  spear  had  seven  heads,  representing  seven  leaders  of 
the  Rebellion,  among  whom  was  the  "  impious,  infamous, 
and  faithless  "  Titus  Gates.  Hercules  and  Britannia,  in  the 
mean  time,  were  trampling  under  their  feet  the  rebel  Col- 
ledge  (who  had  a  corn  thresher  in  his  hands)  and  Oliver 
Cromwell,  with  the  characteristic  orange  feathers  on  the 
helmet.  Here  also  the  scene  was  made  complete  by  Father 
Thames  gliding  under  London  Bridge,  and  by  sphinxes, 
angels,  and  branches  of  laurel. 

The  solemn  presentation  of  credentials  to  Pope  Innocent 
XI.  took  place  on  January  8,  1687,  followed  by  a  banquet 
given  by  Cardinal  Charles  Barberini  in  his  great  palace  on 
the  Quirinal.  The  table,  set  in  the  Sala  di  Pier  da  Cor- 
tona,  was  forty-seven  feet  long,  and  covered  with  sugar 
statuettes  representing  the  "  Glories  and  Deeds  of  James  II. 
the  Invict."  The  dinner  lasted  three  hours,  each  of  the 
sixty  or  seventy  courses  being  announced  by  a  flourish  of 
trumpets.  On  the  adjournment  to  the  next  hall,  the  ambas- 
sador was  welcomed  by  all  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  the 
Roman  nobility,  all  in  fancy  costumes  on  account  of  the 
Carnival,  and  invited  by  them  to  drive  in  the  Corso.  He 
appeared  accordingly  in  the  throng  of  joyous  masqueraders, 
and  drove  through  the  historic  street  in  the  state  coach  of 
the  Barberini,  accompanied  by  Cardinals  Pamphili,  Altieri, 
and  Howard.  All  these  events,  by  which  the  population 
of  Rome  was  so  pleased  and  amused  for  the  time  being,  are 
described  and  illustrated  in  contemporary  pamphlets  and 
prints,  the  best  of  all  being  Michael  Writ's  "  Ragguaglio 


POPE   INNOCENT   XI 


ENGLISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME.  291 

della  solenne  comparsa  fatta  in  Roma  gli  otto  di  gennaio 
MDCLXXXVII  dal  .  .  .  conte  di  Castelmaine  ambascia- 
tore  .  .  .  di  Giacomo  secondo  re  d'  Inghilterra,  Scozia, 
Francia,  et  Ibernia  ...  in  andare  publicamente  all'  udienza 
di  .  .  .  papa  Inuocenzo  undecimo,  etc.,  etc.  Roma,  Ercole, 
1687." 

I  have  found  a  copy  of  this  rare  and  curious  volume,  illus- 
trated with  engravings  by  Arnold  van  Westerhout,  in  the 
library  of  Sir  George  Trevelyan  at  Wellington  Hall.  It 
appears  that  the  embassy,  which  numbered  twenty-two  mem- 
bers, had  embarked  at  Greenwich  on  February  15,  1686,  on 
the  vessel  Henrietta  Mary,  Captain  Fesby,  the  crossing 
of  the  Channel  taking  over  two  days  and  a  half.  From 
Dieppe  they  travelled  overland  to  Avignon,  Monaco,  Genoa, 
and  Leghorn.  At  Avignon  the  papal  delegate,  Mgr.  Cenci, 
entertained  the  ambassador  at  a  banquet  composed  of  four 
courses  of  fourteen  services  each,  fifty-six  plates  in  all. 

On  the  day  appointed  for  the  presentation  of  the  cre- 
dentials, the  Earl  of  Castlemain  drove  to  the  Quirinal  in 
a  coach  drawn  by  six  bays,  a  present  from  the  Marchese  di 
Carpi,  viceroy  of  Naples.  The  coach  was  escorted  by  six 
pages  and  thirty-two  outriders,  and  followed  by  three  hun- 
dred and  thirty-five  carriages.  The  procession  followed  a 
roundabout  way  to  the  Quirinal,  by  S.  Agostino,  the  Fon- 
tanella  di  Borghese,  the  Corso,  and  the  Tre  Cannelle.  On 
January  14  the  ambassador  gave  his  state  banquet  in  the 
Gallery  of  the  Pamphili  palace,  painted  by  Pier  da  Cortona. 
On  the  table,  one  hundred  and  thirty  palms  long,  were 
eighty  silver  trays  supporting  lions  and  unicorns  of  sugar. 
One  hundred  and  ninety  dishes  were  served.  The  public 
rejoicings  were  closed  by  a  musical  entertainment  given 
by  Queen  Christina  of  Sweden  in  her  beautiful  (Corsini) 
palace. 


292  ENGLISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

I  will  bring  this  chapter  to  a  close  by  referring  briefly  to 
the  delightful  church  of  S.  Gregorio  at  Monte  Celio,  which 
is,  or  ought  to  be,  the  English  national  church  in  Rome. 

I  have  never  been  able  to  understand  the  reason  why 
the  Popes  of  the  last  three  centuries,  so  generous  in  the 
matter  of  the  discovery  and  safe-keeping  of  classic  remains, 
should  have  shown  such  marked  indifference  about  church 
antiquities.  If  we  consider  that  one  fifth  at  least  of  our 
city  and  suburban  places  of  worship  date  from  an  age  when 
the  level  of  streets  was  from  twelve  to  thirty  feet  lower, 
and  that  when  their  floors  were  raised  to  the  present  level 
no  great  injury  was  done  to  such  parts  of  the  edifice  as 
were  doomed  to  disappear  from  view,  it  is  easy  to  under- 
stand what  an  amount  of  light  the  rediscovery  of  the  buried 
portions  would  throw  on  the  origin  and  history  of  each 
building.  The  zeal  of  the  Popes  seems  never  to  have  been 
roused  towards  this  aim,  not  eVen  in  the  case  of  the  houses 
of  Prisca  and  Pudens,  the  walls  of  which,  lying  under  their 
respective  churches,  have  echoed  in  all  probability  with  the 
sound  of  the  voices  of  the  Apostles.  The  only  works  of 
interest  in  this  line,  the  rediscovery  of  the  Constantinian 
church  of  St.  Clement,  and  of  the  House  of  John  and 
Paul,  were  undertaken  in  1857  and  1887,  respectively,  by 
private  lovers  of  past  memories,  Father  Mullooly  and  Padre 
Germane,  while  the  official  authorities  were  planning  on 
their  side  the  ghastly  "  restorations  "  of  S.  Crisogono,  SS. 
Apostoli,  S.  Angelo  in  Pescheria,  S.  Agnese,  S.  Maria  in 
Trastevere,  etc.,  or  the  destruction  of  the  Constantinian 
apse  of  the  Lateran. 

No  exploration  of  this  kind  would  have  better  answered 
its  purpose,  and  better  repaid  the  expense  and  tune  and 
labor  of  the  explorers  than  that  of  St.  Gregory's  house  and 
oratory,  lying  at  a  great  depth  under  the  church  on  the 


ENGLISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 


293 


The  church  of  S.  Gregorio. 

(Julian.  A  committee  of  which  I  was  a  member  was 
formed  in  1890  for  this  purpose,  under  the  presidency  of 
Cardinal  Manning  ;  a  search  was  made  through  the  cellars 
of  the  adjoining  monastery,  and  the  fact  ascertained  that  the 
house  of  the  great  pontiff  and  the  monastic  establishment 
from  which  Augustine  started  to  preach  the  gospel  in  Great 
Britain  (see  page  294)  are  in  a  marvellous  state  of  preserva- 
tion, and  could  easily  be  excavated  without  impairing  in  the 
least  the  stability  of  the  modern  church  above.  Cardinal 
Manning  had  offered  two  thousand  pounds  to  help  the  pre- 
liminary works,  and  the  city  authorities  had  most  willingly 
given  their  approval,  when  the  whole  scheme  collapsed  for 
reasons  that  it  would  be  out  of  place  to  mention  here. 

The  project  of  sending  his  apostles  to  England  was  con- 
ceived by  Gregory  the  Great  early  in  596,  on  receiving  the 
news  that  the  Christian  aborigines  \vere  allowed  by  the 


294 


ENGLISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 


Anglo-Saxon  a  certain  freedom  in  practising  their  faith, 
and  that  ^Ethelbyrht,  king  of  Kent  and  bretwalda  of  the 
heptarchy,  had  married  a  Christian  princess,  Bertha,  daugh- 
ter of  Caribert,  to  whom  also  full  freedom  was  granted  to 
follow  the  precepts  of  Christ. 

The  apostolic  mission,  headed  by  Augustine,  started  from 
the  House  of  Gregory  in  the  spring  of  596.  They  followed 
the  course  of  the  Tiber  to  Porto,  set  sail  for  the  Gulf  of 
Lyons,  and  eventually  landed  at  the  monastic  island  of 
Lerins  on  the  coast  of  Provence.  Here  the  mission  was 
overtaken  by  feelings  of  despondency.  The  tossing  of 
their  ship  over  the  choppy  waves  of  the  Mediterranean,  the 
sight  of  new  lands,  the  sound  of  unknown  tongues,  made 
them  regret  so  profoundly  their  happy  and  uneventful  life 
on  the  Cselian  hill  that  Augustine  was  sent  back  to  implore 
from  Gregory  their  release  from  the  perilous  undertaking. 


St.  Augustine  leaving  Rome  for  England  (from  a  fresco  at  the  Monte  Oliveto 

Maggiore). 

As  a  token  of  humble  devotion  Augustine  brought  with 
him  a  certain  quantity  of  wooden  spoons  and  cups  carved 
by  the  monks  of  Lerins  for  the  poor  of  Rome.  Gregory 
kindly  but  firmly  maintained  his  former  decision  :  Angus- 


ENGLISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME.  295 

tine  was  sent  back  with  the  title  of  abbot,  and  with  letters 
of  recommendation  to  Brunehilde,  queen  of  Austrasia  and 
Burgundia,  to  Clotaire  II.  of  Neustria,  and  to  the  Frank  or 
Austrasian  prelates.  The  journey  was  resumed  under  better 
auspices.  Of  their  landing  at  Tanatos  (Thanet),  of  their 
settling  at  Doruvernum  (Canterbury),  of  their  reception  by 
Bertha  and  ^Ethelbyrht,  of  their  fruitful  evangelization  of 
England,  I  need  not  speak,  as  the  history  of  these  events 
has  just  been  written  anew  and  with  profound  learning  by 
my  friend  Professor  Hartmann  Grisar,  S.  J.,  the  illustrious 
author  of  the  "  Geschichte  Roms  und  der  Papste  im  Mittel- 
alter."  > 

The  same  events  are  commemorated  by  two  long  in- 
scriptions in  the  atrium  of  S.  Gregorio,  which  contains 
another  monument  dear  to  the  English  visitor,  the  tomb  of 
Sir  Edward  Carne  of  Glamorganshire.  Sir  Edward  was 
sent  abroad  with  Cranrner  in  1530  to  seek  the  opinion  of 
foreign  universities  on  the  divorce  of  Henry  VIII.  Later 
on  he  became  British  representative  at  the  court  of  Rome, 
and  several  of  his  dispatches  have  been  published  by  Bishop 
Burnet.  On  the  breaking  up  of  diplomatic  relations  Paul 
IV.  induced  him  to  remain  in  Rome,  where  he  died  in  1561. 
Another  remarkable  tomb  of  British  interest  is  to  be  found 
in  the  church  of  S.  Cecilia,  a  church  once  full  of  archaeologi- 
cal interest  and  now  one  of  the  most  impressive  specimens 
of  the  heinous  taste  which  prevailed  in  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury among  Roman  artists  and  their  patrons.  A  discovery, 
however,  has  just  been  made  that  will  lead  us  to  forget  the 
shameful  transformation  of  the  church  above  ground,  for 
the  value  of  what  has  been  found  below.2 

1  Published  by  Herder  of  Freiburg  in  Breisgau,  1901  (vol.  i.). 
-  Compare  Crostarosa  Pietro,  Bull.  arch,  cristiana,   vol.  vi.   1900,  pp.   143 
and  265. 


296  ENGLISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME, 

The  excavations  were  undertaken  in  the  autumn  of  the 
year  1899  by  Cardinal  Rampolla,  titular  of  S.  Cecilia,  and 
his  archaeological  adviser,  Mgr.  Crostarosa.  They  found 
a  starting-point  in  the  remains  of  a  bathing-apartment, 
visible  in  and  around  the  chapel  of  the  saint  at  the  ex- 
tremity of  the  right  aisle,  and  they  were  able  to  ascertain 
at  once  that  these  bathrooms  formed  part  of  a  great  and 
noble  palace,  the  remains  of  which  extend  far  beyond  the 
area  of  the  present  church.  The  apartments  brought  to 
light  are  divided  into  two  sections  by  a  longitudinal  wall 
without  doors  or  openings  of  any  kind.  It  seems,  there- 
fore, that  the  church  covers  the  remains  not  of  one  but 
of  two  distinct  houses,  the  boundary  wall  of  which  follows 
the  axis  of  the  nave.  The  one  on  the  left  is  the  nobler  of 
the  two,  and  contains  among  other  apartments  a  hall  of 
basilical  type,  with  nave  and  aisles  separated  by  two  rows 
of  clumsy  brick  pilasters.  The  house  on  the  right  must 
have  belonged  to  a  family  of  inferior  rank,  if  we  accept 
the  conjecture  of  Professor  Mau  that  the  two  circular  tanks, 
discovered  in  the  principal  room  formed  part  of  a  tanner's 
establishment.  The  conjecture  is  the  more  acceptable  if 
we  consider  that  the  district  in  which  S.  Cecilia  is  placed 
was  mostly  occupied  by  tanners,  the  most  powerful  and 
the  most  troublesome  of  Roman  trade  guilds.  Their  head- 
quarters, called  "  Coriaria  Septimiana  "  from  the  Emperor 
Septimius  Severus,  who  rebuilt  and  enlarged  and  endowed 
them  at  the  beginning  of  the  third  century',  were  discov- 
ered in  1871  at  the  corner  of  the  Via  de'  Salumi,  and  the 
Via  in  Piscinula,  not  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty 
yards  from  S.  Cecilia.  Another  indication  of  the  social 
state  of  the  owner  is  to  be  found  in  the  poverty  and  sim- 
plicity of  the  family  shrine,  or  Lararium.  It  consists  of  a 
recess  in  one  of  the  walls,  shaped  like  a  loophole,  with  a 


ENGLISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 


297 


figurine  of  Minerva,  carved  in  low  relief  out  of  a  piece  of 
peperino,  at  the  bottom,  while  the  slanting  sides  are  pan- 
elled with  a  couple  of  terracotta  friezes,  representing  a 
vintage  scene.  This  second  house  is  built  over  and  amongst 
the  remains  of  a  much  older  one,  dating  from  the  second 
century  B.  c.,  when  the  level  of  the  Trastevere  was  lower 
by  six  or  seven  feet,  and  when  stone  was  used  in  domestic 
architecture  instead  of  bricks.  The  walls  of  the  nobler 
house  are  mostly  of  the  third  century  after  Christ,  and  its 
pavements  —  those,  I  mean,  which  have  not  been  destroyed 
by  the  gravediggers  after  the  erection  of  the  church  —  are 


The  tomb  of  Cardinal  Adam  of  Hertford. 

of  mosaic  in  black  and  white.  Two  rather  good  marble 
sarcophagi  have  also  been  unearthed  —  one  with  the  Cale- 
donian hunt  on  its  lid,  used  again  for  Christian  burial  at 
the  time  of  Paschal  I.,  who  rebuilt  in  821  the  old  oratory  of 
Urban  I.  and  gave  it  its  present  basilican  type. 

All  these  interesting  relics  have  been  left  visible  under 


298  ENGLISH  ME  MORALS  IN  ROME. 

the  modern  pavement,  as  has  already  been  done  with  those 
of  St.  Clement,  of  Sts.  John  and  Paul,  and  as  will  be  done, 
I  hope,  at  no  distant  date,  with  those  of  the  house  and  mon- 
astery of  Gregory  the  Great. 

The  tomb  in  S.  Cecilia  which  attracts  the  attention  of 
the  English  traveller  is  that  of  Cardinal  Adam  of  Hertford, 
on  the  right  of  the  main  door.  (See  page  297.)  This  pre- 
late, a  very  learned  man  for  the  age,  administrator  of  the 
diocese  of  London  and  titular  of  S.  Cecilia,  took  part  in  the 
opposition  to  Urban  VI.,  and,  having  been  arrested  with  five 
other  cardinals  at  Lucera,  was  carried  by  that  Pope  to 
Genoa.  He  alone  was  saved,  by  the  interference  of  the  Eng- 
lish crown,  the  others  being  put  to  death  in  the  convent  of 
S.  Giovanni  di  Pre,  where  their  remains  were  discovered 
not  many  years  ago. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

SCOTTISH    MEMORIALS    IN    ROME. 

AN  old  tradition  relates  that  Christianity  had  not  long 
been  established  over  the  Roman  Empire  when  one  day 
a  youth,  weary  and  footsore,  entered  one  of  the  gates  of 
the  Imperial  City.  He  came  from  a  land  in  the  far  north 
which  few  had  heard  of,  and  he  had  long  travelled  "per 
mare  et  per  terras  "  in  his  desire  to  study  the  truths  of  faith 
by  the  tombs  of  the  Apostles.  How  long  Ninian  remained 
in  Rome  is  not  stated  ;  however,  by  command  of  the  Pope, 
he  eventually  retraced  his  steps  home,  preached  the  gospel 
to  his  fellow-countrymen,  and  founded  the  church  of  Gallo- 
way, about  two  hundred  years  before  St.  Augustine  landed 
in  England. 

Scotland,  however,  was  too  far  away  and  the  difficulties 
of  travelling  too  great  for  many  to  follow  in  Ninian 's  foot- 
steps, and  so  the  clergy  was  trained,  not  in  Rome,  nor  on 
the  Continent,  but  in  the  local  monastic  schools,  which  in 
Scotland,  as  elsewhere,  were  then  the  homes  of  learning 
and  the  nurseries  of  science.  After  the  monastic  schools 
came  the  universities,  and  St.  Andrews  and  Glasgow  and 
Aberdeen  became  the  great  centres  of  intellectual  work. 
It  was  only  after  the  religious  troubles  of  the  sixteenth 
century  that  the  project  of  instituting  a  Scots  college  in 
Rome  was  formed. 

The  ancient  monastery  of  St.  James  at  Ratisbon,  founded 
by  Marianus  Scotus  in  1068,  had  long  since  fallen  into  a  state 
of  decay,  and  so  had  the  seminary  which  Abbot  Fleming 


300  SCOTTISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

had  instituted  in  connection  with  the  old  abbey.  In  1576 
another  Scotch  college  was  founded  at  Tournay,  not  to 
speak  of  the  one  in  Paris  which  owed  its  existence  to  Cardi- 
nal Beaton. 

As  far  as  Rome  was  concerned,  there  had  been  a  national 
church  dedicated  to  St.  Andrew,  and  a  hospice  for  the  re- 
lief of  Scotch  pilgrims,  long  before  the  Reformation.  The 
modern  church  of  S.  Andrea  delle  Fratte  occupies  and 
marks  the  spot  where  the  devout  people  from  beyond  the 
Tweed  found  a  welcome  when  they  came  to  visit  the  holy 
places  at  Rome.  It  was  Clement  VIII.  who,  by  a  bull  dated 
December  5, 1600,  gave  the  Scottish  Catholics  a  national  col- 
lege. Its  site,  very  confined  and  unsuitable,  was  in  the  Via 
del  Tritone,  near  the  church  of  Our  Lady  of  Constantinople. 
In  1604  it  was  transferred  to  the  Via  delle  Quattro  Fon- 
tane,  opposite  to  the  present  Barberini  palace,  where  it  has 
remained  ever  since. 

The  history  of  this  institution  has  been  given  by  Mgr. 
Robert  Fraser,  the  present  rector,  in  an  illustrated  article 
published  in  the  March  number  of  "St.  Peter's  Magazine" 
for  1899.  It  is  remarkably  uneventful  as  far  as  general 
interests  are  concerned.  More  interesting,  perhaps,  to  the 
reader  is  another  incident  in  the  history  of  Scottish-Roman 
relations,  concerning  the  prominent  place  gained  by  a  Scot- 
tish gentleman  as  an  archaeological  explorer  of  the  Cam- 
pagna. 

The  name  of  Gavin  Hamilton  was  not  new  in  Rome.  I 
have  found  in  the  records  of  the  sixteenth  century  an  obliga- 
tion signed  December  3,  1554,  by  the  Reverend  Doctor  Gavin 
Hamilton,  abbot  of  Kylwyning  and  coadjutor  to  the  see  of 
St.  Andrews  in  the  kingdom  of  Scotland,  viz.,  a  receipt 
for  the  sum  of  three  thousand  scudi  of  gold  which  he  had 
borrowed  from  the  bank  of  Andrea  Cenami  in  Paris.  For  the 


SCOTTISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME.  301 

guarantee  of  which  sum  he  deposits  the  papal  brief  of 
nomination  to  the  coadjutorship  of  St.  Andrews,  and 
offers  the  signature  of  three  sponsors.  Gavin  Matreson,  a 
priest  of  St.  Andrews,  D.  Bonard,  canon  of  Dingwall,  and 
Andrew  Grayme,  a  priest  of  Brechin.1 

His  namesake,  the  painter  and  explorer  of  the  Campagna, 
was  born  at  Lanark  towards  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  of  an  ancient  and  respected  family,  the  Hamil- 
tons  of  Murdieston.  Having  displayed  from  an  early  age 
a  marked  predilection  for  the  fine  arts,  and  not  finding 
opportunities  to  gratify  such  a  taste  in  his  native  land,  he 
moved  to  Rome,  where  he  soon  acquired  great  renown, 
and  where  he  passed  the  rest  of  his  life,  revisiting  Scotland 
only  at  long  intervals  and  for  very  short  periods.2 

I  shall  not  follow  his  career  as  an  artist,  nor  shall  I  de- 
scribe his  celebrated  paintings  in  the  Casino  of  the  Villa 
Borghese,  representing  scenes  from  the  Iliad.  His  partiality 
as  an  artist  for  Homeric  subjects  is  shown  not  only  by  the 
great  frescoes  just  mentioned,  but  also  by  smaller  pictures, 
representing  such  scenes  as  Achilles  standing  over  the  dead 
body  of  Patroclus,  Achilles  dismissing  Briseis,  and  Achilles 
dragging  the  body  of  Hector,  which  have  passed  into  the 
collections  of  the  Duke  of  Hamilton,  of  Lord  Hopetoun, 
and  of  the  Duke  of  Bedford.3  Gavin  Hamilton  attracts 
us  more  as  an  archaeological  explorer  of  the  Roman  Cam- 
pagna, as  an  indefatigable  excavator,  as  a  man  of  enormous 
activity  crowned  by  extraordinary  success.  He  was  not 
working  alone,  but  as  a  member  of  a  company,  formed, 
I  am  sorry  to  say,  more  for  a  lucrative  than  for  a  scientific 

1  State  Archives,  in  the  Cainpo  Marzio,  vol.  6166,  p.  475. 

2  See  Lord  Fitzuiaurice's  article  in  the  Academy,  quoted  by  A.  H.  Smith, 
•'  Catalogue  of  ...  Marbles  at  Lansdowne  House,"  p.  7. 

s  These  subjects  have  been  engraved  by  Cunego,  Morghen,  and  others. 


302  SCOTTISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

purpose.  There  were  three  of  them,  associated  from  1769 
or  1770  :  James  Byres,  architect ;  Gavin  Hamilton,  painter  ; 
and  Thomas  Jenkins,  banker.  The  place  of  Byres  was 
afterwards  taken  by  Robert  Fagan,  English  consul  at 
Rome.  In  volume  i.  of  the  "  Townley  Marbles  "  the  Villa 
of  Hadrian  is  indicated  as  their  principal  field  of  operation ; 
but  this  is  not  precisely  true.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the 
discoveries  they  made  in  the  Pantanello,  near  the  gates  of 
Hadrian's  Villa,  count  among  the  most  successful  of  the 
century ;  but  they  had  the  same  if  not  a  better  chance  at 
Ostia,  Porto,  Ardea,  Marino,  Civita  Lavinia,  Torre  Colom- 
bara,  Campo  Jemini,  Cornazzano,  Monte  Cagnolo,  Roma 
Vecchia,  Gabii,  Subiaco,  Arcinazzo,  etc.  The  documents 
concerning  these  excavations,  unedited  for  the  greater  part, 
will  be  found  in  volume  iv.  of  my  "  Storia  degli  Scavi 
di  Roma."  The  second  member  of  the  company,  James 
Byres,  architect,  was  the  special  correspondent  and  pur- 
veyor of  Charles  Townley,  as  Hamilton  was  of  William 
Fitzmaurice,  second  Earl  of  Shelburne,  first  Marquis  of 
Lansdowne,  and  founder  of  the  Lansdowne  Museum  of 
Statuary.  Byres,  besides  working  in  the  interest  of  the 
company,  carried  on  a  trade  of  his  own,  especially  in  rare 
books  and  drawings  and  in  smaller  and  precious  objects, 
among  which  were  the  "  Mystic  Cista "  of  Palestrina  of 
the  Townley  Collection  (found  1786),  the  bronze  patera 
of  Antium  (found  1782),  and  the  golden  fibula  of  Pales- 
trina, now  in  the  British  Museum,  etc.  Byres  returned 
to  his  native  land  in  1790,  and  died  at  Tonly,  Aberdeen- 
shire,  in  1817,  at  the  age  of  eighty-five. 

"  Thomas  Jenkins  first  visited  Rome  as  an  artist,  but 
having  amassed  a  considerable  fortune  by  favor  of  Clement 
XIV.  (Ganganelli)  became  the  English  banker.  He  was 
driven  from  Rome  by  the  French,  who  confiscated  all  they 


SCOTTISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME.  303 

could  find  of  his  property.  Having  escaped  their  fury,  he 
died  at  Yarmouth  immediately  on  his  landing  after  a  storm 
at  sea,  in  1798.  For  an  account  of  his  extensive  dealings 
in  antiquities  (especially  the  purchase  and  dispersion  of 
the  Montalto-Negroni  collection)  see  Michaelis,  '  Anc.  Mar- 
bles,' p.  75."  1 

I  must  say  that  the  dealings  of  Hamilton  and  his  asso- 
ciates with  the  government  of  the  land  whose  hospitality 
they  enjoyed  were  not  always  fair  and  above  board. 
Payne  Knight,  giving  evidence  before  the  Select  Com- 
mittee of  the  House  of  Commons,  on  the  Elgin  Marbles,  in 
1793,  distinctly  affirms  that  some  of  the  marbles  could  only 
be  removed  from  Rome  by  bribing  the  Pope's  officials, 
while  others  were  "  smuggled  "  or  "  clandestinely  brought 
away."  In  a  letter  addressed  by  Hamilton  to  Lord  Shel- 
burne  on  July  16,  1772,  we  find  the  following  passage : 
"  In  the  meanwhile  I  give  your  Lordship  the  agreeable  news 
that  the  Cincinnatus  (discovered  at  the  Pantanello  in  1769) 
is  now  casing  up  for  Shelburne  House,  as  the  Pope  has 
declined  the  purchase  at  the  price  of  .£500,  which  I  de- 
manded, and  has  accepted  of  two  other  singular  figures, 
.  .  .  which  I  have  given  them  at  their  own  price,  being 
highly  necessary  to  keep  Visconti  and  his  companion  the 
sculptor  my  friends.  Your  Lordship  may  remember  I 
mentioned  in  a  former  letter  that  I  had  one  other  curious 
piece  of  sculpture  which  I  could  not  divulge.  I  must, 
therefore,  beg  leave  to  reserve  this  secret  to  be  brought  to 
light  in  another  letter,  when  I  hope  I  shall  be  able  to  say 
it  is  out  of  the  Pope's  dominions.  As  to  the  Antinous,  I 
am  afraid  I  shall  be  obliged  to  smuggle  it,  as  I  can  never 
hope  for  a  license."  And  in  a  second  letter,  dated  August 
6,  he  adds  :  "  Since  my  last  I  have  taken  the  resolution  to 

1  Smith,  A  Catalogue,  p.  58  ;  Dallaway,  Anecdotes,  p.  365. 


304  SCOTTISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

send  off  the  head  of  Antinous  in  the  character  of  Bacchus 
without  a  license.  The  under-antiquarian  alone  is  in  the 
secret,  to  whom  I  have  made  an  additional  present,  and 
hope  everything  will  go  well." 

His  luck  as  a  discoverer  of  antiques  was  simply  marvellous, 
and  many  of  his  reports  sound  like  fairy  tales.  The  year 
1769  is  the  date  of  the  excavations  at  the  Pantanello,  the 
product  of  which  was  mostly  purchased  by  Lord  Shelburne 
for  the  gallery  at  Lansdowne  House.  Hamilton  himself 
wrote  an  account  of  the  proceedings  to  Townley,  a  synopsis 
of  which  is  given  by  Dallaway  ("  Anecdotes  of  the  Arts  in 
England,"  London,  1800,  p.  364).  The  place  had  already 
been  explored  by  a  local  landowner,  Signer  Lolli.  Hamil- 
ton and  his  associates  in  the  antiquarian  speculation  "  em- 
ployed some  laborers  to  re-investigate  this  spot.  They 
began  at  a  passage  to  an  old  drain  cut  in  the  rock,  by 
means  of  which  they  could  lower  the  waters  of  the  Panta- 
nello. After  having  worked  some  weeks  by  lamplight,  and 
up  to  the  knees  in  stinking  mud  full  of  toads,  serpents,  and 
other  vermin,  a  few  objects  were  found  .  .  .  but  .  .  .  Lolli 
had  already  carried  away  the  more  valuable  remains.  The 
explorers  fortunately  met  with  one  of  Lolli's  workmen,  by 
whom  they  were  directed  to  a  new  spot."  "  It  is  difficult  to 
account,"  Hamilton  writes  to  Townley,  "  for  the  contents 
of  this  place,  which  consisted  of  a  vast  number  of  trees, 
cut  down  and  thrown  into  this  hole,  probably  from  despite, 
as  having  been  part  of  some  sacred  grove,  intermixed  with 
statues,  etc.,  all  of  which  have  shared  the  same  fate.  More 
than  fifty-seven  pieces  of  sculpture  were  discovered  in  a 
greater  .or  less  degree  of  preservation." 

1  Catalogue  given  by  Agostino  Penna,  in  his  Viaggio  pittorico  della  Villa 
Adriana,  Roma,  1833.  The  exploration  of  the  Pantanello  lasted  from  1769  to 
1772.  Piranesi  gives  another  excellent  account  in  the  description  of  his  plan 
of  Hadrian's  Villa. 


SCOTTISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 


305 


A  view  of  Hadrian's  Villa  excavated  by  Hamilton. 

The  search  at  Torre  Colombara,  near  the  ninth  mile- 
stone of  the  Appian  Way,  began  in  the  autumn  of  1771. 
Two  spots  were  chosen  about  half  a  mile  apart :  one  sup- 
posed to  have  been  a  temple  of  Domitian,  the  other  a  villa 
of  Gallienus.  Hamilton  was  struck  by  the  number  of  du- 
plicate statues  found  in  these  excavations,  one  set  being 
greatly  inferior  to  the  other  in  workmanship  and  finish,  as 
if  there  had  been  an  array  of  originals  and  one  of  replicas. 
The  statues  lay  dispersed  all  over  the  place,  as  if  thrown 
aside  from  io-norance  of  their  value,  or  from  a  relijnous 

O  '  O 

prejudice.  Some  were  lying  only  a  few  inches  below  the 
surface  of  the  field,  and  bore  marks  of  the  injuries  inflicted 
upon  them  by  the  ploughman.  First  to  come  to  light  was 
the  Marcus  Aurelius,  larger  than  life,  now  at  Shelburne 
House.  The  Meleager,  the  jewel  of  the  same  collection,  and 
one  of  the  finest  statues  in  England,  was  next  found  ;  and 


306  SCOTTISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

also  the  so-called  "  Paris  Equestris,"  sold  by  Jenkins  to  Smith 
Barry,  Esq.  The  same  gentleman  purchased  at  a  later 
period  a  draped  Venus,  to  which  was  given  the  name  of 
Victrix.  In  fact,  most  of  the  leading  European  collections 
have  their  share  of  the  finds  of  Torre  Colombara.  The 
Museo  Pio  Clementino  secured  the  celebrated  Discobolus, 
now  in  the  Sala  della  Biga,  u.  615,  the  colossal  bust  of  Sera- 
pis,  now  in  the  Rotonda,  n.  549,  and  some  smaller  objects  ; 1 
Mr.  Coch,  of  Moscow,  a  sitting  Faun  and  an  Apollinean 
torso  of  exquisite  grace;  Dr.  Corbett,  a  Venus  ;  Lord  Lans- 
downe,  an  Amazon ;  and  so  forth. 

The  crowning  point  of  Hamilton's  career  must  be  found 
in  the  search  he  made  in  the  spring  of  1792  among  the 
ruins  of  Gabii.  Ciampini,  Fabretti,  Bianchini,  and  other 
explorers  of  Latium  had  already  identified  the  site  of  this 
antique  city,  the  Oxford  of  prehistoric  times,  with  that  of 
Castiglione  on  the  southeast  side  of  the  lake  of  the  same 
name.  Many  valuable  or  curious  remains  had  come  acci- 
dentally to  light  in  tilling  the  land,  especially  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  the  temple  of  Juno,  which  marks  the  centre  of  the 
Roman  municipium,  and  of  the  church  of  S.  Primitive, 
which  marks  the  centre  of  Christian  Gabii.  These  discov- 
eries having  become  more  and  more  frequent  in  the  time 
of  Prince  Marc'  Antonio  Borghese  the  elder,  he  readily 
accepted  Hamilton's  application  to  make  a  regular  search. 
The  work  began  in  March,  1792,  and  lasted  a  compara- 
tively short  time ;  yet  the  results  were  such  that  Prince 
Marc'  Antonio  was  obliged  to  add  a  new  wing  to  his  mu- 
seum in  the  Villa  Pinciana,  to  exhibit  the  Gabine  marbles, 
the  summary  description  of  which  by  Ennio  Quirino  Vis- 
conti  (Rome,  Fulgoni,  1797)  forms  a  bulky  volume  of  one 
hundred  and  eighty-one  pages  and  fifty-nine  plates.  Ham- 

1  Compare  Helbig's  Guide,  vol.  i.  p.  236,  n.  331,  and  p.  217,  n.  304. 


SCOTTISH  MEMORIALS  IN  HOME. 


307 


Gabii. 


ilton  had  laid  bare  two  important  edifices  :  the  temple  of 
Juno,  with  its  sacred  enclosure  and  its  hemicycle  opening 
on  the  Via  Praenestina,  and  the  Forum  and  the  Curia  of 
the  Roman  Gabii.  Here  he  found  eleven  statues  or  im- 
portant pieces  of  statues  of  mythological  subjects  ;  twenty- 
four  statues  or  busts  or  heads  of  historical  personages, 
including  Alexander  the  Great,  Germanicus,  Onaeus  Domi- 
tius  Corbulo,  the  greatest  Roman  general  of  the  time  of 
Nero,  Claudius,  Geta,  Plautilla,  etc. ;  seven  statues  of  local 
worthies,  seven  pedestals  with  eulogistic  inscriptions,  be- 
sides columns,  mosaic  pavements,  architectural  fragments, 
coins,  pottery,  glassware,  and  bronzes. 

The  end  of  the  Borghese  Museum  is  well  known.  The 
most  valuable  marbles,  those  from  Gabii  included,  were 
removed  to  Paris  by  the  first  Napoleon,  for  which  an  in- 
demnity of  fifteen  millions  of  francs  was  promised  to  Prince 


308  SCOTTISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

Borghese.     The  greater  part  of  this  sum  remained  unpaid 
at  the  fall  of  the  French  Empire,  and  is  still  unpaid. 

England,  as  usual,  had  her  share  in  the  spoils  from  Gabii. 
Visconti  informs  us  that  a  beautiful  polychrome  mosaic 
floor,  discovered  among  the  ruins  of  a  villa,  at  a  certain 


Bust  of  Cnaeus  Domitius  Corbulo. 

distance  from  the  temple  of  Juno,  was  purchased  by  "  my 
Lord  Harvey,  count  of  Bristol,"  and  removed  to  his  country 
seat  in  Somersetshire. 

The  year  1717  marks   the  arrival  of  the  "  last   of  the 
Stuarts  "  in  the  States  of  the  Church.     Under  the  name  of 


SCOTTISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME.  309 

the  Chevalier  de  St.  Georges,  James  III.,  son  of  James  II. 
and  of  Mary  Beatrice  of  Modena,  sought  the  hospitality  of 
Pope  Clement  XI.,  Albani,  in  the  beautiful  ducal  castle  at 
Urbino.  The  Chevalier  de  St.  Georges  was  not  altogether 
unknown  to  the  Romans.  Many  among  the  living  remem- 
bered the  celebration  made  by  Cardinal  Howard  on  the 
announcement  of  his  birth  in  1688,  when  an  ox  stuffed 
with  game  was  roasted  in  one  of  the  public  squares,  and 
served  to  the  populace.  A  rare  engraving  by  Arnold  van 
Vesterhout  represents  this  event.1 

The  marriage  of  James  III.  with  Mary  Clementina,  grand- 
daughter of  the  great  John  III.,  Sobieski,  of  Poland, 
arranged  by  Clement  XI.  in  1718,  was  attended  with  con- 
siderable difficulties.  While  crossing  the  Austrian  terri- 
tory, she  was  detained  in  one  of  the  Tyrolean  castles  by 
order  of  Charles  VI.,  Emperor  of  Austria.  She  succeeded, 
however,  in  eluding  the  vigilance  of  the  keepers,  and,  dis- 
guised in  a  young  man's  attire,  made  good  her  escape. 
When  she  reached  Rome  in  the  spring  of  1719,  the  Pope 
bade  her  take  up  her  quarters  in  the  monastery  of  the 
Ursulines,  in  the  Via  Vittoria.  This  monastery  still  exists, 
although  transformed  into  a  royal  Academy  of  Music. 

The  marriage  was  celebrated  in  the  village  of  Montefias- 
cone,  on  the  Lake  of  Bolsena,  where  the  royal  couple  spent 
their  honeymoon.  There  is  a  scarce  engraving  of  the  wed- 
ding ceremony,  by  Antonio  Frix,  from  a  sketch  by  Agostino 
Masucci,  bearing  the  title  :  "  Funzione  fatta  per  lo  sposa- 
lizio  del  re  Giacomo  con  la  principessa  Clem.  Sobieski." 
In  Rome  they  established  their  residence  in  the  Palazzo 
Muti-Savorelli,  now  Balestra,  at  the  north  end  of  the  Piazza 

1  "  Stampa  di  un  bue  arrostito  intero,  ripieno  di  diversi  animali,  comesti- 
bili  in  publica  piazza,  da  distribuirsi  al  volgo,  in  occassione  delle  allegrezze 
celebrate  in  Roma  dal  Card.  Howard,  per  la  nascita  del  principe  Giacomo." 
Roma,  1688. 


310 


SCOTTISH  MEMORIALS  IN  HOME. 


The  church  of  S.  Flaviano  in  the  village  of  Montefiascone. 

de'  Santi  Apostoli,  the  rent  being  paid  by  the  Pope.  The 
Pope  also  offered  them  an  annual  subsidy  of  fifteen  thou- 
sand dollars,  besides  a  wedding  present  of  a  hundred  thou- 
sand. The  old  baronial  manor  of  the  Savelli  at  Albano 
was  put  at  their  disposal  for  a  summer  residence.1 

The  birth  of  their  first  son,  which  took  place  December 
31,  1720,  gave  occasion  for  great  manifestations  of  loyalty. 
The  event  was  announced  by  a  royal  salute  from  the  guns 
of  the  Castle  of  St.  Angelo,  and  by  the  joyous  ringing  of 

1  After  the  death  of  his  parents  and  brother  the  Savelli  manor  passed  into 
the  hands  of  Cardinal  York.  An  English  visitor  who  saw  it  about  1800  gives 
the  following  details  :  "  Cardinal  Stuart  .  .  .  has  a  palace  in  Albano,  which 
was  given  him  by  the  Pope.  He  never  resides  there,  but  successively  lent  it 
to  the  Spanish  ambassador,  and  to  the  princesses  Adelaide  and  Victoire,  aunts 
of  the  unfortunate  Lewis  XVI. .  .  .  This  palace  ...  is  furnished  in  the  plainest 
manner,  and  in  one  of  the  principal  rooms  are  maps  of  London,  Rome,  and 
Paris,  as  also  one  of  Great  Britain,  on  which  is  traced  the  flight  of  the  late 
Pretender."  See  Description  of  Latium,  p.  69,  London,  1805. 


SCOTTISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME.  311 

some  two  thousand  bells.  N.  544  of  the  "  Diario  di  Roma  " 
contains  an  account  of  the  baptism  of  the  infant  prince 
under  the  name  of  Charles  Edward.  The  sponsors  were 
Cardinal  Gualtieri  for  England,  Cardinal  Imperiali  for  Ire- 
land, and  Cardinal  Sacripante  for  Scotland.  Clement  XL 
said  mass  in  the  chapel  of  the  English  college,  and  gave, 
as  presents,  a  Chinese  object  valued  at  four  thousand  dol- 
lars and  a  cheque  amounting  to  ten  thousand. 

Their  second  son,  Henry  Benedict,  Duke  of  York,  was 
born  in  1725  and  baptized  by  Pope  Benedict  XIII.  in  the 
chapel  of  the  Muti  palace.  Among  the  presents  received 
on  this  occasion  were  the  "  Fascie  benedette."  "  Fascie  "  in 
Italian  means  a  long  band  of  strong  white  linen,  with  which 
newborn  infants  are  tightly  swathed  during  the  first 
months  of  their  life.  However  ungentle  this  practice  may 
seem,  it  is  kept  up  in  Italy  even  in  our  own  days,  as  the 
people  believe  they  impart  more  firmness  of  limb  to  their 
children  by  swathing  them  in  this  manner. 

The  habit  of  the  papal  court  of  presenting  these  fascie 
to  the  eldest  born  of  a  royal  house  dates  as  far  back  as 
Clement  VII.,  Aldobrandini.  This  Pope  gave  them,  for 
the  first  time,  in  1601,  to  Henry  IV.  of  France,  whose 
second  wife,  Maria  de'  Medici,  had  given  birth  to  the  dau- 
phin, the  future  Louis  XIII.  The  fascie  were  intrusted  to 
a  special  ambassador,  Maffeo  Barberini,  who  afterwards 
became  Pope  Urban  VIII. 

The  presentation  of  the  baby  bands  to  James  III.  and  his 
Queen  Clementina  is  fully  described  in  no.  1200  of  the  "  Dia- 
rio di  Roma."  It  took  place  on  April  5,  1725,  the  prelate 
selected  as  envoy  extraordinary  being  Monsignor  Merlini 
Paolucci,  Archbishop  of  Imola.  The  bands  and  other 
articles  of  a  rich  layette  were  enclosed  in  two  boxes,  lined 
with  crimson  velvet  embroidered  in  solid  gold.  There  wrere 


312  SCOTTISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

bands  also  ornamented  with  gold  embroidery,  and  others  of 
the  finest  Holland  linen  trimmed  with  exquisite  lace.  The 
gift  to  the  infant  prince  was  valued  at  8000  scudi. 

From  the  same  invaluable  source,  the  "  Diario  di  Roma  " 
(n.  2729),  we  gather  many  particulars  about  the  death  of 
Queen  Clementina,  which  took  place  on  January  18,  1735, 
and  about  her  interment  in  St.  Peter's.  The  theatres  were 
closed,  much  to  the  annoyance  of  the  managers  and  the 
public,  as  it  was  carnival  time ;  also  the  illuminations  and 
fireworks  prepared  in  honor  of  the  newly  elected  Cardinal 
Spinelli,  Archbishop  of  Naples,  were  given  up.  The  funeral 
ceremonies  began  in  the  parish  church  of  SS.  Apostoli, 
where  the  body  of  the  Queen  was  exposed  on  a  catafalque, 
of  which  we  have  an  etching  by  Baldassarre  Gabuggiani. 
The  funeral  cavalcade  from  the  parish  church  to  the  Vati- 
can, of  which  there  is  a  print  by  Rocco  Pozzi,  was  attended 
by  the  college  of  cardinals  in  their  violet  or  mourning  robes. 
On  the  preceding  day  the  governor  of  the  city,  Monsignor 
Corio,  had  issued  the  following  proclamation :  — 

"  On  the  occasion  of  the  transferment  of  the  mortal  re- 
mains of  Her  Majesty  Clementina  Britannic  Queen,  which 
will  take  place  to-morrow  with  due  and  customary  solemnity, 
and  with  the  view  of  removing  all  obstacles  which  might 
interfere  with  the  orderly  progress  of  the  pageant  from  the 
church  of  SS.  Apostoli  to  St.  Peter's,  we,  Marcellino  Corio, 
Governor  of  Rome  and  its  district  .  .  .  order,  command,  and 
bring  to  notice  to  all  concerned,  of  whatever  sex  or  condition 
of  life,  not  to  trespass  or  intrude  over  the  line  of  the  pro- 
cession with  their  coaches,  carriages,  or  wagons,  under  the 
penalty  of  the  loss  of  the  horses  besides  other  punishments 
for  the  owners  of  the  said  coaches,  carriages,  and  wagons, 
while  the  coachmen  or  drivers  shall  be  stretched  three 
times  on  the  rack  then  and  there  without  trial  or  appeal. 


SCOTTISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 


313 


Given  in  Rome  from  our  residence  this  day,  January  21, 
1735."  (Signed)  Marcellino  Corio,  Governor  ;  Bartolomeo 
Zannettini,  Notary. 

The  college  of  the  Propaganda  commemorated  the  event 


The  catafalque  raised  in  the  church  of  NS.  Apostoli  for  the 
funeral  of  James  III. 

by  holding  an  assembly  in  which  the  virtues  of  Mary  Clem- 
entina were  celebrated  and  sung  in  twenty  different  lan- 
guages, including  the  Malabaric,  the  Chaldsean,  the  Tartaric, 
and  the  Georgian.  Two  monuments  were  raised  to  her : 


314 


SCOTTISH  MEMORIALS  IN  HOME. 


one  in  SS.  Apostoli,  one  in  St.  Peter's.  The  first  consists 
of  an  urn  of  "  verde  antico,"  and  a  tablet  of  "rosso," 
containing  the  celebrated  epigram  :  — 

Hie  Clementinas  remanent  prsecordia :  nam  Cor 
caelestis  fecit,  ne  superesset,  amor. 

I  have  a  suspicion  that  the  distich  was  written  by  Giulio 
Cesare  Cordara,  S.  J.,  a  great  admirer  of  the  late  princess. 
The  same  learned  man  wrote  a  pastoral  drama,  called  "  La 
Morte  di  Nice  "  (Nike's  Death),  printed  at  Genoa,  1755,  and 
translated  into  Latin  by  Giuseppe  Vairani.  The  body  was 
laid  to  rest  in  St.  Peter's,  in  a  recess  above  the  door  lead- 
ing to  the  dome  (Porta  della  Cupola).  The  tomb,  designed 


The  Sacre  Grotte  Vaticane. 

by  Filippo  Barigioni,  cut  in  marble  by  Pietro  Bracci,  with  a 
mosaic  medallion  by  Cristofori,  was  unveiled  on  December  8, 
1742.1  It  cost  18,000  scudi,  taken  from  the  treasury  of  the 
chapter  of  St.  Peter's. 

1  Literature  :  Vita  di  Maria  Clem.,  etc.,  Bologna,  1744  ;  Parentalia  Marios 
Clem.  Magnce  Brittannice  reginaz,  Romse,  1735  ;  Solenni  esequie  di  Maria  Clem., 
etc., celebrate  in  Fano,  Fano,  1735  ;  Casabianca  Francesco,  Epicediumpro  imma- 
turofunere  Marias  Clem.,  Roinae,  1738  ;  //  Cracas,  n.  3960,  3322,  2990  ;  Pisto- 
lesi,  //  Vaticano  descritto,  vol.  i.  p.  257. 


SCOTTISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME.  315 

It  seems  that  the  happiness  of  Queen  Clementina's 
domestic  life  was  occasionally  affected  by  passing  clouds. 
After  her  death  the  king1  took  even  more  interest  in  Roman 
patrician  society.  In  a  book  of  records  of  Pier  Leone 
Ghezzi,  now  belonging  to  the  department  of  antiquities  of 
the  British  Museum,  I  have  found  the  account  of  a  visit 
paid  by  the  king  to  Cardinal  Passionei  in  his  summer  resi- 
dence at  Camaldoli  near  Frascati,  on  October  19,  1741. 
"  The  King  of  England,"  Ghezzi  says,  "  was  accompanied  by 
the  Princess  Borghese  and  the  Princess  Pallavicini,  alone, 
without  any  escort  of  '  demoiselles  d'honneur.' ' 

Many  interesting  particulars  about  the  life  of  the  pair 
in  Rome,  related  by  contemporary  daily  papers,  are  now 
almost  forgotten.  They  were  very  fond,  for  instance,  of 
enjoying  the  popular  gathering  called  the  Lago  di  Piazza 
Navona.1  This  noble  piazza,  still  retaining  the  shape  of 
the  old  Stadium  of  Domitian  and  Severus  Alexander,  over 
the  ruins  of  which  it  is  built,  used  to  be  inundated  four 
or  six  times  a  year,  during  the  hot  summer  months,  by 
stopping  the  outlet  of  the  great  fountain  of  Bernini,  called 
the  Fontana  dei  Quattro  Fiumi.  Stands  and  balconies 
were  erected  around  the  edge  of  the  lake ;  windows  were 
decked  with  tapestries  and  flags  ;  bands  of  music  played, 
while  the  coaches  of  the  nobility  would  drive  around  where 
the  water  was  shallow.  It  was  customary  with  the  owners 
of  the  palaces  bordering  on  the  piazza  to  send  invitations 
to  their  friends,  and  treat  them  with  refreshments  and 
suppers. 

The  first  mention  I  find  of  the  presence  of  James  and 
Maria  Clementina  at  this  curious  gathering  dates  from 
Sunday,  August  11,  1720.  They  were  the  guests  of  Cardi- 
nal Trojano  Acquaviva,  who  had  built  a  stand  in  front 

1  See  Francesco  Cecconi,  Roma   antica  e  moderna,  1725,  p.  669. 


316  SCOTTISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

of  his  church  of  S.  Giacomo  degli  Spagnuoli,  hung  with 
red  damask  trimmed  with  bands  of  gold.  Refreshments 
were  served,  and  the  royal  guests  took  such  pleasure  in 
the  spectacle  that  twice  again  they  appeared  at  that  same 
balcony  before  the  season  was  over,  on  August  25  and  Sep- 
tember 1. 

The  young  Prince  Charles  was  allowed  to  see  the  Lago 
for  the  first  time  in  1727,  August  4.  The  following  year, 
taking  advantage  of  the  absence  of  his  mother,  Charles 
amused  himself  by  throwing  half-pennies l  into  the  water 
and  watching  the  struggles  of  the  young  beggars  to  se- 
cure a  share  of  the  meagre  bounty,  "  cosa  di  poca  decenza 
per  un  figlio  di  Re."  2  I  find  the  last  mention  of  their 
presence  in  1731,  in  the  balcony  of  Cardinal  Corsini,  whose 
pastry-cooks  and  butlers  had  been  at  work  for  three  days 
and  nights  in  preparing  the  supper-tables. 

The  Lago  is  thus  described  by  de  la  Lande  in  his  "  Voy- 
age en  Italic  dans  les  Annees  1765  et  1766,"  v.  p.  Ill : 
"  La  grande  quantite  d'eau,  que  donnent  ces  trois  fontaines 
[of  the  Piazza  Navona]  procurent  en  ete  un  spectacle  fort 
singulier,  et  fort  divertissant.  Tous  les  dimanches  du  mois 
d'aout,  apres  les  vepres,  on  ferme  les  issues  des  bassins. 
L'eau  se  repand  dans  la  place,  qui  est  un  peu  concave,  en 
forme  de  coquille.  Dans  1'espace  de  deux  heures  elle  est 
inondee  sur  presque  toute  sa  longueur,  et  il  y  a  vers  le  mi- 
lieu deux  ou  trois  pieds  d'eau.  On  vient  alors  se  promener 
en  carrosse  tout  autour  de  la  place.  Les  chevaux  marchent 
dans  1'eau ;  et  la  fraicheur  s'en  communique  a  ceux  meme, 
qui  sont  dans  la  voiture.  Les  fenetres  de  la  place  sont 
couvertes  de  spectateurs.  On  croirait  voir  une  naumachie 

1  The  "  mezzi  bajocchi "  were  coined  for  the  first  time  in  1611,  by  Pope  Paul 
V.,  Borghese. 

2  The  criticism  is  by  Valesio. 


2  '  Ol?clisco:c  Fontana-izi-Jlltre,  ^fbntat-ie  •  3  '  Chiesa. 


rTci  allayata  s 


THE   LAGO   DI 


nclle,  Fejfe,  dc 
Ihtrifilj'>  ^i-  ChieJa,  etl 


di  S-  Giacomo    deyli 


\ZZA   NAVONA 


SCOTTISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME.  317 

antique.  J'ai  vu  le  palais  du  Cardinal  Santobono  Caracciolo 
rempli  ces  jours  la  de  la  plus  belle  compagnie  de  Rome. 
II  faisoit  lui-meme  les  honneurs  de  ses  balcons  par  ses 
manieres  nobles,  et  engageantes,  auxquelles  il  joignoit  les 
refraichissemens  les  plus  fins.  Autrefois  on  passoit  la  nuit 
a  la  place  Navone.  On  y  soupoit,  on  y  faisoit  des  con- 
certs. Mais  Clement  XIII.  a  proscrit  tous  les  plaisirs.  Des 
1'Ave  Maria  on  commence  a  desecher  la  place.  II  arrive 
quelque  fois  des  accidens  a  cette  espece  de  spectacle.  Des 
chevaux  s'abattent,  et  si  1'on  n'est  pas  tres-prompt  a  les 
degager,  ils  se  noyent.  C'est  ce  que  j'ai  vu  arriver  aux 
chevaux  du  prince  Barberini  en  1765.  Mais  quand  on 
suit  la  file  avec  moderation,  1'on  n'est  gueres  expose  a  cet 
inconvenient.  L'eau  ne  vient  pas  au  dela  des  moyeux  de 
petites  roues  dans  1'endroit  ou  les  carrosses  se  promenent." 

In  Sir  Alexander  Dick's  "Travels  in  Italy"  (1736), 
printed  in  "  Curiosities  from  a  Scots  Charta  Chest,"  by  the 
Hon.  Mrs.  Atholl  Forbes,  there  are  many  jottings  about  the 
Duke  of  York  as  a  boy  of  eleven  :  "  The  little  young  duke 
.  .  .  was  very  grave  and  behaved  like  a  little  philosopher. 
I  could  not  help  thinking  he  had  some  resemblance  to 
his  great-grandfather  Charles  the  First.  .  .  .  The  Duke  of 
York  .  .  .  danced  very  genteelly,"  etc. 

Charles  Edward,  after  the  death  of  his  father,  lived  in 
retirement  under  the  name  of  Count  of  Albany,1  and,  fol- 
lowing the  advice  of  France,  married  the  Princess  Louise 
of  Stolberg,  his  junior  by  thirty-two  years.  After  they  had 
spent  some  time  together  in  Tuscany,  as  guests  of  the 
Grand  Duke  Leopold,  the  countess  left  the  conjugal  roof 
and  established  herself  in  Rome  under  the  guardianship 
of  her  brother-in-law,  Cardinal  York.  We  shall  deal  no 

1  Compare  L'Ascanius  moderne,  ou  Villustre  aventurier,  histoire  de  tout  ce  qui 
est  arrive  de  plus  memorable  et  secret  au  prince  Charles,  etc.,  Edinbourg,  1763. 


318  SCOTTISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

longer  than  is  necessary  with  this  lady ;  she  died  in  Flor- 
ence in  1824,  after  many  adventures,  with  which  any  one 
who  has  read  the  life  of  Alfieri,  the  great  Italian  tragedian, 
must  necessarily  be  acquainted.  Charles  Edward  died  in 
Florence  on  January  31,  1788.  His  body  was  removed 
to  Frascati,  the  episcopal  see  of  his  brother,  and  a  "  recog- 
nitio  cadaveris  "  was  performed  before  the  entombment  in 
St.  Peter's.  The  body  was  found  clad  in  a  royal  robe,  with 
the  crown,  sceptre,  sword,  and  royal  signet-ring  ;  there  were 
also  the  insignia  of  the  knighthoods  of  which  the  sover- 
eign of  Great  Britain  is  the  grand  master  de  jure.  The 
cardinal  did  his  best,  to  obtain  a  state  funeral  in  Rome  ; 
but  the  Pope  refused,  on  the  ground  that  Charles  Edward 
had  never  been  recognized  as  a  king  by  the  Holy  See. 

The  Duke  of  York,  younger  son  of  James  III.,  was  elected 
cardinal  on  July  3,  1747,  while  in  his  twenty-second  year.1 
Officially  he  was  called  the  Cardinal  Duke  of  York  ;  but 
after  the  death  of  the  elder  brother  he  proclaimed  himself 
the  legitimate  sovereign  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland, 
under  the  name  of  Henrv  IX.  Within  the  walls  of  the 

w 

Muti  palace,  or  of  the  episcopal  residence  at  Frascati,  he 
claimed  the  title  of  Majesty,  but  among  his  colleagues  of 
the  sacred  college  he  was  simply  styled,  "  His  Serene  High- 
ness Henry  Benedict  Mary  Clement,  Cardinal  Duke  of  York." 
Such  a  profusion  of  names  was  not  calculated  to  please  his 
colleagues,  who  more  than  once  found  a  way  of  showing 
their  disapproval. 

1  Compare  Life  of  Henry  Benedict  Stuart,  Cardinal  Duke  of  York,  by  Bern- 
hard  W.  Kelly,  London,  Washbourne,  1899  :  "  A  good  little  work,  which 
might  have  been  much  better  had  its  author  gone  to  such  accessible  sources 
as  von  Reuinont's  Grafin  v.  Albany,  Mr.  Lang's  Pickle  the  Spy,  and  above 
all  James  Browne's  History  of  the  Highlands.  The  last,  a  great  but  neglected 
storehouse  of  Jacobite  lore,  contains  more  than  a  score  of  letters  by,  to,  or 
about  the  cardinal  "  (Athenaeum). 


SCOTTISH  MEMORIALS  IN  HOME. 


319 


The  episcopal  church  of  Cardinal  York.  Fr; 

The  friendship  between  Pope  Benedict  XIV.  and  the 
young  prince  of  the  church  became  rather  strained  in  1752. 
It  seems  that  the  latter  had  taken  an  extraordinary  fancy 
for  a  certain  Mgr.  Lercari,  his  own  "  maestro  di  camera," 
while  his  father  could  not  tolerate  his  presence.  Lercari's 
dismissal  was  asked  and  obtained ;  but  the  two  friends 
continued  to  meet  almost  daily,  or  else  to  communicate 
by  letters.  Annoyed  at  this  state  of  things,  James  III. 
applied  to  the  Pope  for  advice  and  help,  with  the  result  that 
young  Lercari  was  banished  from  Rome  on  the  night  of 
July  19.  The  cardinal  resented  the  measure  as  a  personal 
offence,  and  on  the  following  night  he  left  the  paternal 
home  for  Nocera.  Benedict  XIV.  wrote  several  letters 
pointing  out  how  such  an  estrangement  between  father  and 
son,  between  Pope  and  cardinal,  would  give  satisfaction  to 


320  SCOTTISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

their  common  foes  on  the  other  side  of  the  Channel.  After 
five  months  of  brooding  the  duke  gave  up  his  resentment, 
and  accepted  Mgr.  Millo  as  "  maestro  di  camera."  The 
reconciliation,  which  took  place  on  December  16,  pleased 
the  court  and  the  people  beyond  measure,  because  father 
and  son,  king  and  cardinal,  had  won  the  good  graces  of 
all  classes  of  citizens  by  their  charities  and  affable  manners, 
so  different  from  the  dignified  gloom  characteristic  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  race  abroad. 

His  nomination  to  the  bishopric  of  Frascati,  July  13, 
1761,  is  the  next  important  event  we  have  to  chronicle,  as 
it  was  the  indirect  cause  of  the  destruction  of  one  of  the 
noblest  monuments  of  the  old  Latin  civilization.  In  the 
mean  time  there  are  some  curious  particulars  to  be  called 
to  mind  in  connection  with  his  residence  at  Frascati,  the 
diocese  of  which  he  governed  for  forty-three  years.  He 
loved  this  residence  so  dearly  that  whenever  he  was  called 
to  Rome  to  attend  a  consistory  or  a  "  Cappella  Pontificia," 
more  than  once  he  killed  his  carriage-horses  in  his  haste 
to  get  back  to  Frascati.  His  banqueting  hall  was  always 
open  to  guests,  and  very  often  messengers  were  dispatched 
to  Rome  on  the  fastest  ponies  to  secure  the  delicacies  of  the 
season.  The  members  of  his  household  were  all  hand- 
some and  imposing,  their  liveries  superb.  The  library 
of  the  local  seminary  contains  still  a  valuable  set  of  Eng- 
lish standard  works,  and  the  cathedral  many  precious  ves- 
sels, the  gift  of  this  generous  man.  It  is  a  pity  that  we 
should  be  compelled  to  bring  home  to  him  an  act  of  wanton 
destruction,  for  which  I  can  find  no  apology.1 

1  There  is  a  fine  portrait  of  the  Cardinal  by  Pompeo  Batoni  in  the  National 
Portrait  Gallery.  Sins  of  the  Drunkard,  a  temperance  tract  by  him,  is  read  to 
the  present  day,  I  believe,  in  every  church  of  the  diocese  of  Liverpool,  twice 
a  year. 


SCOTTISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 


321 


Visitors  to  the  Eternal  City  and  students  of  its  history 
know  how  the  beautiful  Campagna  is  bounded  towards  the 
south  by  the  Alban  Hills,  the  graceful  outline  of  which  cul- 
minates in  a  peak  3130  feet  high,  which  the  ancients  called 
Mons  Albanus,  and  moderns  call  Monte  Cavo.  On  this 
peak,  visible  from  Latium,  Etruria,  Sabina,  and  Campania, 


The  Villa  Conti  at  Frascati.  for  some  time  the  residence  of  Cardinal  York. 

stood  the  venerable  temple  of  Jupiter  Latialis,  erected  by 
Tarquinius  Superbus  as  the  meeting-place  of  the  forty-seven 
cities  which  formed  the  Latin  confederation.  The  temple 
was  reached  by  a  paved  road  which  branched  off  from  the 
Via  Appia  at  Ariccia,  and  crossing  the  great  forest  between 
the  lakes  of  Nemi  and  Albano,  reached  the  foot  of  the 
peak  in  the  vicinity  of  Rocca  di  Papa.  The  pavement  of 
this  Via  Triumphalis,  trodden  by  the  feet  of  Q.  Minutius 
Rufus,  the  conqueror  of  Liguria,  of  M.  Claudius  Marcellus, 
the  conqueror  of  Syracuse,  of  Julius  Caesar,  as  dictator,  etc., 
is  in  a  marvellous  state  of  preservation  ;  not  so  the  temple  of 


322  SCOTTISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

Jupiter  Optimus  Maximus,  which  stood  at  the  summit  of 
the  road. 

From  a  rare  drawing  of  about    1650  in  the   Barberini 

O 

library  we  learn  that  the  federal   sanctuary  stood,  facing 


The  Via  Triumphalis  leading  to  the  temple  of  Jupiter  on  the  Mons  Albanus. 

the  south,  in  the  middle  of  a  platform  enclosed  and  sup- 
ported by  a  substructure  of  great  blocks  of  tufa.  Columns 
of  white  marble,  or  of  giallo  antico,  and  marble  blocks  from 
the  cella  of  the  god,  inscribed  with  the  "  Fasti  Feriarum 
Latinarum,"  lay  scattered  over  the  sacred  area,  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  which  statues,  bas-reliefs,  and  votive  offerings 
in  bronze  and  terracotta  were  occasionally  found.  These 
remains  were  mercilessly  destroyed  in  1783  by  Cardinal 
York,  to  make  use  of  the  materials  for  the  rebuilding  of  the 
utterly  uninteresting  church  and  convent  of  the  Passionist 


SCOTTISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 


323 


monks  which  he  dedicated  to  the  Holy  Trinity  on  October 
1  of  the  same  year.  This  act  of  vandalism  of  the  last  of 
the  Stuarts  was  justly  denounced  by  the  Roman  antiquaries, 
and  we  wonder  why  so  great  an  admirer  of  ancient  art  as 
Pius  VI.  did  not  interfere  to  prevent  it. 

The  temple  was  one  of  the  national  monuments  of  Italy, 
and  no  profaning  hand  should  have  been  allowed  to  remove 
a  single  one  of  its  stones.  It  was  not  necessary  to  be  a  stu- 
dent or  a  philosopher  to  appreciate  the  importance  of  the 


A  view  of  th 


place.  "  On  the  summit  of  Monte  Cavo,"  writes  an  Eng- 
lish visitor  contemporary  with  these  events,  "  it  is  impos- 
sible not  to  experience  sensations  at  once  awful  and  delight- 
ful ;  the  recollection  of  the  important  events  which  led  the 
masters  of  the  world  to  offer  up  at  this  place  their  homage 
to  the  Deity  is  assisted  by  the  great  quantity  of  laurel  still 
here."  The  same  visitor  saw  in  the  garden  of  the 


324 


SCOTTISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 


A  view  of  the  Roman  wall. 

convent  "  fragments  of  cornices  of  good  sculpture ;  and 
when  we  were  on  the  hill  the  masons  were  employed  in 
making  a  shell  for  holy  water  out  of  part  of  an  antique 
altar." 

How  often  have  I  sat  on  one  of  the  few  blocks  of  stone 
left  on  the  historic  peak  to  tell  the  tale  of  its  past  fortunes 
and  glory,  wondering  at  the  strange  chain  of  events  which 
prompted  a  scion  of  the  savage  Picts  to  lay  hands  on  the 
very  temple  in  which  thanks  had  been  offered  to  the  Deity 
for  Roman  victories  and  Roman  conquests  in  the  British 
Isles  !  When  the  Romans  were  raising  their  mighty  ram- 
parts to  confine  the  Caledonian  tribes  within  prescribed 
boundaries,  and  cut  them  off,  as  it  were,  from  the  rest  of 
mankind  ;  when  Agricola  was  building  his  nineteen  forts, 
A.  D.  81,  between  the  Forth  and  the  Clyde ;  when  Lollius 
Urbicus  completed  this  line  of  defence,  A.  D.  144,  by  the 
addition  of  a  rampart  and  ditch  between  old  Kirkpatrick 


SCOTTISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME.  325 

and  Borrowstoness ;  when  Hadrian  raised  his  wall  and  his 
embankment,  A.  D.  120,  between  the  Tyne  and  the  Solway, 
subsequently  repaired  by  Septimius  Severus,  did  they  dream 
that  the  day  would  come  when  one  of  the  Picts  yonder 
would  follow  in  their  footsteps  along  the  Via  Triumphalis, 
and  wipe  off  from  the  face  of  the  earth  the  temple  of  the 
god  to  whom  the  conquering  heroes  had  paid  respect,  and 
presented  votive  offerings  from  the  islands  beyond  the 
Channel  ? 

There  is  another  and  more  glaring  instance  of  this  strik- 
ing irony  of  fate  to  be  found  in  Rome  itself.     The  palace 


The  gate  of  the  Villa  Mills  on  the  Palatine,  with  the  emblem  of  the  Thistle. 

of  Augustus  on  the  Palatine  Hill,  where  the  emperor  lived 
for  forty  years,  kept  in  repair  as  a  place  of  pilgrimage 
down  to  the  fall  of  the  Empire,  this  most  august  of  Roman 
historical  relics,  after  having  been  plundered  in  1775  of  its 
contents  by  the  Frenchman  Rancoureuil,  fell  in  1820  into 
the  hands  of  Charles  Mills,  Esq.  This  Scotch  gentleman 
caused  the  Casino  (built  and  painted  by  Raffaellino  dal 
Colle  near  and  above  the  house  of  Augustus)  to  be  recon- 


326  SCOTTISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

structed  in  the  Tudor  style  with  Gothic  battlements,  and 
raised  two  Chinese  pagodas,  painted  in  crimson,  over  the 
exquisite  bathrooms  used  by  the  founder  of  the  Empire. 
And  for  the  branches  of  laurel  and  the  "  corona  civica," 
which  in  accordance  with  a  decree  of  the  Senate  orna- 
mented the  gates  of  the  palace,  Charles  Mills  substituted 
the  emblem  of  the  Thistle. 

The  death  of  Cardinal  York,  which  took  place  at  ten  p.  M. 
of  July  13,  1807,  was  mourned  by  the  population  of  the 
diocese  of  Frascati  as  an  irreparable  loss.  He  had  been 
their  good  and  generous  pastor  for  half  a  century,  he  had 
been  cardinal  for  sixty  years,  he  had  been*  archpriest  of 
St.  Peter's  for  fifty-six  ;  in  his  long  career  he  had  won  the 
good  graces  of  every  one,  and  made  no  enemies.  The  body 
was  removed  to  Rome  and  exposed  in  the  main  hall  of  the 
Palazzo  della  Cancelleria.  The  funeral  was  celebrated  on 
the  following  Thursday,  July  16,  in  the  parish  church  of 
S.  Andrea  della  Valle,  in  the  presence  of  Pius  VII.  and 
the  Sacred  College.  The  same  evening  the  coffin  was  re- 
moved to  St.  Peter's,  and  placed  in  the  crypts,  near  those  of 
his  father  and  brother.  The  three  last  representatives  of  a 
valiant  and  noble  race,  whose  faults  had  been  atoned  by 
long  misfortunes,  were  thus  reunited  and  laid  to  rest  under 
the  mighty  dome  of  the  greatest  temple  ever  raised  for  the 
worship  of  the  true  God. 

I  need  not  dwell  on  the  cenotaph  raised  to  their  memory 
opposite  that  of  Maria  Clementina,  nor  on  the  well  known 
dedication  REGIME  STIRPIS  STVARDI^E  POSTREMIS  !  The 
Duke  of  Sussex,  sixth  son  of  George  III.  and  brother  of 
George  IV.  and  William  IV.,  who  contributed  fifty  guineas 
towards  the  erection  of  the  memorial,  was  a  special  admirer 
of  the  old  cardinal,  having  been  his  neighbor  for  one  whole 


CENOTAPH    OF   THE   STUARTS  — THE    MOURNING   ANGEL 


SCOTTISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME.  329 

summer  on  the  hills  of  Tusculum  and  Albano.1  Kelly  says 
in  connection  with  his  visits :  "  It  is  said  on  good  authority 
that  one  of  the  brothers  of  George  IV.  took  a  journey  to 
Frascati,  to  receive  in  'orthodox  fashion  from  the  hands  of 
Henry  IX.  the  healing  touch  which  had  been  denied  to  the 
rulers  of  his  own  dynasty,"  and  that  knowing  the  cardinal's 
pretence  to  a  royal  title,  he,  the  son  of  George  III.,  had  not 
hesitated  to  comply  with  his  wish. 

English  describers  of  Rome  are  in  the  habit  of  quoting 
with  relish  the  well-known  passage  of  Lord  Mahon  :  "  Be- 
neath the  unrivalled  dome  of  St.  Peter's  lie  mouldering  the 
remains  of  what  was  once  a  brave  and  gallant  heart ;  and  a 
stately  monument  from  the  chisel  of  Canova,  and  at  the 
charge,  I  believe,  of  the  house  of  Hanover,2  has  since  risen 
to  the  memory  of  James  III.,  Charles  III.,  and  Henry  IX., 
kings  of  England,  names  which  an  Englishman  can 
scarcely  read  without  a  smile  or  a  sigh."  Lord  Mahon 
could  have  saved  both  his  smiles  and  his  sighs  if  he  had 
simply  read  with  care  the  epitaph  engraved  on  the  monu- 
ment, which  says  :  "  To  James  III.,  son  of  James  II.,  King 
of  Great  Britain,  to  Charles  Edward,  and  Henry,  Dean  of 

1  The  Alban  and  Tusculan  hills  have  always  been  in  favor  with  the  English 
visitors  to  Rome  since  the  eighteenth  century,  and  there  is  110  villa  in  that  dis- 
trict which  might  not  be  associated  with  an  historical  name.     The  Duke  and 
Duchess  of  Gloucester  lived  some  months  in  the  Villa  Albani  at  Castel  Gan- 
dolfo,  and  the  Duke  of  Sussex  passed  a  whole  summer  at  Grottaferrata,  within 
the  diocese  of  the  last  of  the  Stuarts.     Pius  VI.  gave  a  dinner  to  the  duke  in 
the  farmhouse  of  la  Cecchignola,  on  the  Via  Ardeatina,  where  the  venerable 
old  Pontiff  used  to  go  in  the  month  of  October,  to  amuse  himself  with  the 
Paretajo.     The  Paretajo  consists  of  a  set  of  very  fine  nets  spread  vertically 
from  tree  to  tree  in  a  circular  grove,  in  the  centre  of  which  flutter  the  decoy 
birds.     At  the  time  of  the  great  flights  of  migratory  birds  the  catching  of  one 
or  two  hundred  of  them  in  a  single  day  is  not  a  rare  occurrence,  if  the  Paretajo- 
is  skillfully  put  up. 

2  The  monument  was  really  erected  at  the  expense  of  Pius  VII. 


330  SCOTTISH  MEMORIALS  IN  ROME. 

the  Sacred  College,  Sons  of  James  III.,  the  last  of  the 
Royal  House  of  Stuart."  Let  us  join,  however,  with  Lord 
Mahon  in  the  prayer  which  is  heard  so  often  in  Roman 
funeral  services  :  Peace  be  with  them  !  REQUIESCANT  IN 
PACE  ! 


INDEX. 


INDEX. 


AGKIPPA  (Herodes),  218. 

Alba  Longa,  103. 

Alban  HUls,  329. 

Alban  volcanoes,  203,  321. 

Alberti,  Leon  Battista,  206. 

Alexander  VI.,  Pope,  2SO-i:85. 

Almo,  river,  186. 

Alphabet,  early  Roman,  21. 

Aunales  Maximi,  66. 

Anneus  Gallio,  brother  of  Seneca,  159. 

Antemnae,  28,  96. 

Arches :  of  Augustus,  2, 153  ;  of  M.  Aure- 
lius,  260  ;  of  Claudius,  260 ;  of  Fabius 
Allobrogicus,  69,  153 ;  of  Septiraius 
Severus,  5  ;  of  Titus  on  the  Summa 
Sacra  Via,  84,  229, 230 ;  of  Titus  at  the 
Circus  Maximus,  232. 

Argajan  altars,  8. 

Argiletum,  26. 

Artemis  Taurica,  182. 

Arundel,  Sir  Thomas,  272. 

Arvales,  brotherhood  of  the,  92,  95,  102  : 
records  of,  102,  108  ;  buildings  of,  102- 
118. 

Atta  Navius,  the  augur,  36. 

Atys,  the  Phrygian  god,  185-188. 

Augustine,  the  apostle  of  England,  294. 

Augustus,  106,  200,  217. 

Aventine,  129. 

Bacchylides,  99. 

Bandusia,  spring  of,  92. 

Bankers  ad  lanum.  147. 

Barracks,  of  the  charioteers,  270  ;  of  the 
Equites  Singulares.  176,  180. 

Basilica  ^Emilia,  64,  132-147,  153. 

Basilica  Constantiniana,  32,  84,  87,  237. 

Basilica  Julia,  5,  72,  132,  135,  146,  280. 

Basilicas  around  the  Forum,  132. 

Baths  of  Caracalla,  100. 

Beelefarus,  the  Syrian  god,  182. 

Black  Stone  (Lapis  Niger),  5. 

Boni  Giacomo,  5,  63,  74,  78. 

Borghese,  Marc'  Antonio,  306. 

Borghese  museum  of  statuary,  306. 

Borgia  apartment  in  the  Vatican,  285. 

Borgia  family,  282. 

Borgo  (Burg  or  Burgh),  the  Saxon  quar- 
ter, 208. 

Caedwalla.  King  of  Essex,  264. 
Cselestis  Virgo,  the    Phrenician  goddess, 
198. 


Caalian  Hill,  12. 

Casre,  21,  22,  67. 

Caesar  Borgia,  282. 

Calendar,  Roman,  66,  68,  79,  112. 

Campus  Itidaeorum,  248. 

Campus  Martius. 

Campus    Salinarum    Romanaruin,     now 

Camposalino,  104. 
Cancelleria  Palace,  271,  326. 
Capitoline  Hill,  12  ;  Mithrsea,  193,  196  ; 
monument  of  Victor  Emmanuel,  198 ; 
Temple  of  Jupiter,  28,  72,  198,  241. 
Caraffa,  Cardinal  Oliviero,  47. 
Carinaa,  26. 

Carne,  Sir  Edward,  295. 
Castel  Gandolfo,  124. 
Castel  S.  Pietro,  113. 
Castelli,  Cardinal  Adriano,  279. 
Castlemain,  Earl  of,  285,  291. 
Catacombs  of   Ciriaca,  64 ;  of   Generosa, 
116, 119 ;  in  the  Vigna  Salviucci,  165- 
168. 

Cenotaph  of  Romulus,  2,  12,  31. 
Charles  Edward  Stuart,  31 1-317. 
Chimneys,  first,  in  Rome,  276. 
Christina,  Queen  of  Sweden,  225,  291. 
Churches : 

S.  Adriano,  151. 

S.  Agnese,  142. 

S.  Agostino,  51. 

S.  Andrea  degli  Scozzesi,  300. 

S.  Andrea  della  Valle,  326. 

S.  Andrea  delle  Fratte,  300. 

SS.  Apostoli,  312-314. 

S.  Cecilia,  63,  295-298. 

S.  Clemente,  142,  193. 

S.  Flaviano,  Montefiascone,  310. 

S.  Francesca  Romana,  91. 

S.  Gregorio,  292. 

St.  John  the  Lateran,  37,  142,   174, 
179,  263. 

S.  Lorenzo  f  nori  le  Mura,  64,  125. 

S.  Lorenzo  in  Damaso,  48,  270. 

S.  Maria  della  Consolazione,  254. 

S.  Maria  di  Costantinopoli,  300. 

S.  Maria  in  Publicolis,  71. 

S.  Maria  in  Via  Lata,  179. 

S.  Maria  Maggiore,  142,  174. 

S.  Maria  Nuova,  91. 

S.  Marina,  Ardea,  111. 

S.  Martina.  43,  144. 

S.  Paolino  alia  Regola,  159. 

St.  Paul,  138,  141,  173,  253. 


334 


INDEX. 


St.  Peter,  142,  174,  264,  314. 

S.  Pietro  in  Vinculis,  142,  215. 

S.  Sabina,  131. 

S.  Sebastiano,  164. 

St.  Thomas  a  Becket,  272. 
Civita  Lavinia,  127. 
Claudia  the  Vestal,  62,  66. 
Clement  XL,  Pope,  309,  311. 
Clivus  Sacrae  Vise,  32,  84. 
Cloaca  Maxima,  26,  27,  133. 
Ccenred,  King  of  Mercia,  267. 
Collars  of  slaves  and  dogs,  145. 
Columbaria  in  the  Licinian  Gardens,  2. 
Columna  Duilia,  19. 
Columna  Julia,  19,  79. 
Columna  Maenia,  9. 
Columna  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  on  the  Es- 

quiline,  88. 

Comitium,  5-39  ;  fountains  of,  40. 
Commentarii  Sacrorum,  56. 
Conservator!  Palace,  36,  63,  71. 
Coustantine  the  Great,  32. 
Crashaw,  Richard,  273. 
Curia,  Senate  House.  5,  13,  40. 
Curia  Calabra,  66. 
Curia  Hostilia,  10. 
Cybele,  the  Great  Mother  of  the  Gods,  182. 

Damasus.  Pope,  118. 

Dea  Dia,  the  goddess  of  the  Arvales,  102. 

Deification  in  Rome,  80. 

Diana  Nemorensis,  212. 

Diocletian,  5,  31. 

Domitius  Corbulo,  308. 

Domus  Ptiblica,  55,  78. 

Druidism  in  Rome,  15. 

English  memorials  in  Rome,  260-298. 

English  ambassadors,  279. 

English  coins,  268. 

English  college,  269. 

English  palaces,  279. 

Epona,  the  goddess  of  stables,  181. 

Equites  Singulares,  176, 178 ;  barracks  of, 

179. 
Eugenius  IV.,  Pope,  151. 

Fagan,  Robert,  302. 

Fascie  benedette,  311. 

Fasti  consulares  et  triumphales,  66. 

Fatae,  the  Fates,  182. 

Fires :  of  210  B.  c.,  132 ;  of  1823  A.  D., 
143  ;  of  Alaric  (A.  D.  410),  40 ;  of  Cari- 
nns  (A.  D.  283),  5,  6, 138 ;  of  Commodns 
(A.  D.  191),  85,  234 ;  of  the  Gauls  (390 
B.  c.),  10,  22,  36,  55 ;  of  Nero  (A.  D. 
65),  138 ;  of  Robert  Guiscard  (A.  D. 
1081),  43,  72  ;  of  Titus  (A.  D.  80),  138. 

Foot,  Attic,  Etruscan,  Roman,  29. 

Forum  Boariuru,  15. 

Forum  Julium,  5. 

Forum  of  Peace,  2:54,  238. 

Forum  Romanum,  1-52,  132. 


Fountains  :  of  Bandusia,  93  ;  of  the  Cam- 
po  Vaccino,  44  ;  of  the  Comitium,  40  ; 
of  Juturna,  53,  58  ;  of  the  Quirinal,  47. 

Frangipane  family,  252.. 

Frascati,  Bishopric  of  Cardinal  York,  319- 
321. 

Gabii,  excavations  at,  306. 

Gabinius  Vettius  Probianus,  146. 

Galen,  his  offices  on  the  Clivus  Sacer,  234, 
237. 

Gardens :  of  ^Elius  Lamia,  219-225 ;  of 
Agrippina  the  Elder.  267,  283  ;  of  Car- 
dinal Carpi,  88  ;  of  la  Farnesina,  69 ; 
of  the  Licinian  family,  2  ;  of  Cardinal 
Alessandro  de'  Medici,  88  ;  of  Eurialo 
Silvestri,  88. 

Gemonian  steps,  133. 

Ghetto  of  ancient  and  modern  Rome, 
250-259. 

Goritz,  Johan  (Coricius),  51. 

Graecostasis,  5. 

Granius  Labeo,  163. 

Grove  of  the  Dea  Dia,  102. 

Hamilton,  Gavin,  Abbot,  300. 

Hamilton,  Gavin,  painter  and  excavator, 
300. 

Harbor  of  Rome  (Ostia,  Portus),  175. 

Hastae  Martis  in  the  Regia,  78. 

Henry  VII.,  King,  280,  285. 

Henzen,  Wilhelm,  108. 

Hercules  Magusanus,  182. 

Hermae,  terminal  stones,  98. 

Heroon  of  Romulus,  2. 

Honesta  missio,  179. 

Horace's  farm  at  Digentia,  92. 

Horrea  Piperataria,  84,  237. 

Horrea  Plumbaria,  264. 

Horti  Lamiani,  2l9. 

Hostelries  in  Rome,  274. 

Houses :  of  Julius  Caesar,  78 ;  of  Numi- 
cius  Pica  Caesianus,  63  ;  of  St.  Paul, 
159 ;  of  the  Valerii,  100 ;  of  the  Ves- 
tals, 58,  268. 

Howard,  Cardinal,  309. 

Hutten,  Ulrich  von,  51. 

Ina,  King  of  Essex,  267. 
Innocent  XL,  Pope,  288. 

James  III.,  Stuart,  309. 

Jenkins,  Thomas,  302,  306. 

Jerome,  St.,  175. 

Jews,  memorials  in  Rome,  215-259 ;  ceme- 
teries, 244,  249 ;  embassy  to  Caligula, 
219,  225;  doctors,  254;  dress,  258; 
quarter  in  ancient  Rome,  159,  241,  249, 
255 ;  synagogue  at  Pompeii,  217  ;  syna- 
gogues in  Rome,  244. 

Julia  Irene  Arista.  24:!. 

Julius  Caesar,  78. 

Julius  Obsequens,  77. 


INDEX. 


335 


Lake  of  Nemi,  203-205  ;  ships  in,  200. 
Lamiaii  Gardens,  219. 
Lansdowne  gallery  of  statues,  303. 
Lunuvium,  127. 
Lapis  Niger  (Black  Stone),  5. 
Laterau,  collection  of  bronzes,  36  ;  execu- 
tions at  the  Wolf.  38. 
Libertini,  a  Jewish  caste,  217. 
Ligorio,  Pirro,  75. 

Lions  at  the  tomb  of  Romulus.  8,  14. 
Lodges  for  secret  meetings,  176. 
Lucina,  the  Roman  matron,  163,  168. 
Lunghezziua,  farm  of,  192. 
Lupercalia,  16. 

Maccabees,  215. 

Macellum  Liviae,  142. 

Magic  Gate,  Villa  Palombara,  227. 

Marcella,  171. 

Marchi,  Francesco  de',  207. 

Marforio,  4.'!. 

Mars,    pedestal    in    the    Comitium,   31  ; 

spears  of,  7s1. 
Mary  Clementina,  Queen  of  James  III., 

309,  315. 

Matres,  Matron*,  182. 
Maxentius,  Emperor,  5,  31,  144. 
Mettius  Curtius,  17. 
Milton,  John,  272. 
Minerva  Medica,  2. 
Mithraic  caves  or  lodges.  192  ;  at  Ostia, 

193 ;  under  the  Capitoline  Hill,  193  ;  at 

Alexandria.   11  Hi. 
Mithraic  bas-reliefs,  194-196. 
Mithraic  degrees,  196. 
Mithras.  Is2. 
Mons  AHianus.  95. 

Mons  Albauus.  Monte  Cavo,  15,  321-323. 
Montefiascone,  310. 
Museum,  National,  at  Naples,  112. 
Museum,  Vatican,  101,  107,  128,  306. 

Nerni,  temple  of  Diana  at,  202-204 ;  lake 

of,  203-205  ;  ships,  205-210. 
Nero,  106. 
Ninian,  299. 

Noreia.  the  goddess  of  Noricum,  182. 
Nova  Via,  5s 
Numicius,  river,  13. 

Offa.  King  of  Essex,  266. 

Ostia.  sacred   field  of  Cybele,    186-191; 

house    of    ^Egrilii,  193,  196 ;  imperial 

palace,  19:'.. 

Palatine  Hill,  12,  26,  27 ;  Argaean  altar, 
8  ;  Domus  Publica,  55,  325  ;  gates,  96  ; 
hut  and  tomb  of  the  Cincii,  96  ;  Mun- 
dus,  12 ;  residence  of  the  Salii,  7s : 
Roma  Quadrata,  12  ;  Villa  Mills.  325  : 
walls,  27. 

Palaces  : 

Barberini,  287. 


della  Cancelleria,  271.  32(i. 

dei  Conservator!,  36,  63.  71. 

Giraud-Torlonia,  279. 

Muti  Savorelli,  309. 

Pamphili.  2N>. 
Palombara,  Marquis  of,  226  ;  his  villa"  on 

the  Esquiline.  225. 
Pantanello.  Hadrian's  villa,  304. 
Pasquino,  torso  of,  47. 
Paul  the  Apostle,  138,  174. 
Paul  IV.,  Pope,  258. 
Peter's  pence.  2(>s. 
Piazza  Navona,  Lake  of,  315-317. 
Pillar  by  the  grave  of  Romulus,  9,  19. 
Pius  VI.,  Pope,  101. 
Poll,  Donato,  48. 

Pompeia  Paulina,  wife  of  Seneca,  161. 
Porticus  Margaritaria,  5,  32,  86. 
Porticus  Tellurensis,  142. 

Quiriual  Hill,  12. 

Regia,  5,  66-77  ;  spears  of  Mars,  78. 
Roccagiovine,  Horace's  farm  at,  93. 
Romulus,  heroon  of,  2,  8,  12,  31. 
Rostra  Vetera,  8. 

Sabadius  Deus,  182. 

Sacks  of  Rome :  A.  D.  110,  239 ;  A.  D. 
455,  239 ;  A.  D.  846,  172 ;  A.  D.  1084, 
250  :  A.  D.  1527,  172. 

Sacra  Via,  53-91,  14(i. 

Sacrifices,  human,  14. 

Sacrificial  offerings  at  the  grave  of  Romu- 
lus, 9-18. 

Sacrificial  wells  in  the  Comitium,  18. 

Sarfati,  Samuel,  a  Jewish  doctor,  255. 

Savelli  palace  at  Albano,  310. 

Saxa  Rubra,  battle  of.  39. 

Saxon  quarter  in  Rome,  267. 

Scottish  memorials  in  Rome,  299-330. 

Senate  House,  5,  35,  40. 

Seneca,  M.  Anneus,  159-162. 

Septa  Julia,  159. 

Septimontium,  12,  26. 

Serpents  of  Lanuvium,  124,  126. 

Shepherd,  John,  founder  of  English  Col- 
lege, 270. 

Ships  in  the  Lake  of  Nemi,  205-210. 

Simon,  the  magician,  89. 

Sixtus  V..  Pope.  258. 

Spears  of  Mars  in  the  Regia,  77. 

Spinon,  river,  13,  26. 

Stabula  Factionum  Circensium,  270-272. 

Statues :  of  Alessandro  Farnese,  88 ;  of 
S.  Anna  by  Sansovius,  51  ;  of  Atys, 
18s ;  of  David  by  Michelangelo,  44 ; 
of  Diana  Nemorensis.  204 ;  in  the 
Forum  of  Peace,  234,  239 ;  of  Gabii, 
306  ;  of  Ganymede  by  Leochares.  239  ; 
of  Hermaphrodite.  63 ;  of  the  Lamian 
Gardens,  221  ;  of  Marforio.  43  ;  of  Nile 
and  Tiber,  43  ;  of  Pasquino.  47  ;  of  the 


336 


INDEX. 


Spada  Palace,  242  ;  of  the  Vatican  Mu- 
seum, 306 ;  of  Venus  Clotho,  187  ;  of  a 
Vestal,  62  ;  of  the  Villa  Borghese,  300. 

Stele  by  the  grave  of  Romulus,  9,  20. 

Stolberg,  Louise  of,  wife  of  Charles  Ed- 
ward, 317. 

Stuarts,  the  last  of  the,  in  Rome,  308-330. 

Sulevae,  sylvan  goddesses,  182. 

Svatiska,  116. 

Synagogue  of  Corinth,  159. 

Tabernas  novae,  147. 
Tarpeian  Rock,  199. 
Tarsus,  154. 

Tasso's  Oak  at  S.  Onofrio,  124. 
Temples : 

Augustus,  153. 

Bona  Dea,  95. 

Castor  and  Pollux,  2. 

Cybele,  185. 

Dea  Dia,  102-118. 

Diana  Nemorensis,  15,  202-215. 

Earth,  63. 

Faustina,  153. 

Fortune,  256. 

Julius  Caesar,  2,  5,  80,  153. 

Juno,  at  Gabii,  307. 

Juno  Lanuvina,  127. 

Jupiter  Capitolinus,  28,  72,  198,  241. 

Jupiter  Latiaris,  15,  95,  321. 

Jupiter  Stator,  230. 

Peace    (so   called)  (Basilica   Nova), 

87. 

Peace,  233,  237. 
Romulus,  son  of  Maxentius,  32,  39, 

86. 

Sacrae  Urbis,  240. 
Satnrn,  5. 

Venus  and  Rome,  5,  34. 
Vespasian,  231. 
Vesta,  153. 
Terremape  in  the  valley  of  the  Po,  29, 

54. 

Tiber,  170,  241. 

Tombs  :  of  King  Csedwalla,  261  ;  of  the 
Charioteer  in  the  Forum,  19  ;  of  Queen 
Mary  Clementina,  314  ;  under  the  con- 
fession at  St.  Paul's,  167  ;  of  Q.  Granius 
Labeo,  163 ;  Julia  Irene  Arista,  243 ; 
of  the  Maccabees,  215 ;  of  Numa  Pom- 


pilius,  22  ;  of  St.  Paul,  163, 172  ;  of  St. 
Peter,  173  ;  of  Peter,  son  of  Leo  (Pier- 
leone),  253 ;  of  Romulus,  22-31  ;  of 
Seneca,  the  philosopher,  162 ;  of  the 
Stuarts,  326-330;  of  the  Via  Trium- 
phalis,  169. 

Torre  Colombara,  excavations  at,  305. 

Trastevere,  241,  243. 

Trigarium,  270. 

Triopium  of  Herodes  Atticus,  32,  120. 

Toutates,  a  barbarian  god,  182. 

Turris  Chartularia,  230. 

Umbilicus  Romas,  13. 

Veii,  10,  29,  96. 

Velabrum,  35. 

Vestal  Virgins,  56,  58,  107, 

Via  Appia,  33,  156,  160,  242,  305,  321. 

Via  Campana,  103. 

Via  Collatina,  192. 

Via  Flaminia,  260. 

Via  Labicana,  33. 

Via  Latina,  242. 

Via  Laurentina,  33,  97. 

Via  Nomentana,  243. 

Via  Nova  Antoniniana,  86. 

Via  Ostiensis,  138,  164,  168,  170,  186. 

Via  Prasnestina,  307. 

Via  Tiburtina,  64. 

Via  Triumphalis,  169. 

Via  Triumphalis  on  Monte  Cavo,  321. 

Villas :  of  Augustus  at  Velletri,  146 ; 
Borghese,  301,  306 ;  of  Brutus  at  Ti- 
voli,  100;  of  Hadrian,  302-305;  of 
Herodes  Atticus,  120  ;  of  Maxentius  on 
the  Via  Appia,  32 ;  of  Maxentius  on 
the  Via  Labicana,  32,  144  ;  Palombara 
on  the  Esquiline,  225,  227  ;  of  Passi- 
enus  Crispus  at  Tusculum,  93  ;  of  Sen- 
eca on  the  Appian  Way,  160  ;  of  Car- 
dinal York  at  Frascati,  321. 

Vulcanal,  16,  19. 

Vulci,  29. 

Wolf,  bronze,  34, 36. 
Woods,  sacred,  in  Rome,  119. 

York,  Henry  Benedict  Stuart,  Cardinal 
Duke  of,  310,  318-326. 


Elecirotyped  and  printed  by  H.  O.  Houghton  &  Co. 
Cambridge,  Mass.,  U.S.  A. 


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